


Calamity's Dawn

by birdsaretoddlers



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Gen, a non-ship thing for once, but i'm tagging it to be safe, the graphic tag is only for one part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28683207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdsaretoddlers/pseuds/birdsaretoddlers
Summary: Moving on when you die proves to be difficult. Especially when memories assault you at every turn.He wondered if that's how Link felt, when he woke up. He wondered how the other Champions were feeling.//Dead Revali coming to terms with being dead.
Comments: 31
Kudos: 20





	1. Zora Wellspring

Being dead completely blew.

Make no mistake, Revali knew his situation was leagues better than it had been merely a short year ago. His endless cycling over Hyrule had finally ceased, his constant struggle to control the Divine Beast that had been taken from him. To avoid getting his soul sucked into the Blight that had been sent to destroy him. It had succeeded, oh had it succeeded. Revali still stung with the defeat, cringing and shaking his head as he thought about it. Sprawled out on Vah Medoh's head as he was, all he had time to do now was think, but he could at least control what he thought about. The sun shone down onto his incorporeal body as he watched the clouds go by. He didn't like to dwell on his own death and failure, casting the thought aside and picking up the previous train he had been musing on. He no longer had to fear Windblight, had to watch, helplessly, as his Beast attacked the Rito he tried so hard to inspire in the past.

Being in the Beast, for a hundred years, and battling for control over what he felt was a part of him, had taken so much out of him. His spirit had been trapped here for so long, and he was tired down to his ethereal bones. Seeing Link release him, and then being able to at last abandon his post when Link sent the signal to fire Vah Medoh's laser into the castle to weaken Ganon, had filled him with never-ending relief. _At last,_ he had thought at the time, slumping down onto the head of the mechanical eagle, knowing that it should be far too hot to sit there and yet, not being able to feel the heat. _Finally. I can leave this awful realm and go... Wherever spirits go._

Yet, he could not. Well, he could, Revali knew that too. No longer was his soul bound to this Beast, bound to his invisible bloodstains that were strewn across Vah Medoh's mossy back. At any time, he could simply... Let go. Release his bond to this place, to this mortal plane, and take his leave for good. But he stayed. A watchful sentry over his village, once Vah Medoh had loosed her attack, Revali continued to make excuses as to why he stayed. He knew that his spirit could be seen, now and then, when the odd passerby on the village bridges looked up and gawked at him. He always waved, or bowed, and disappeared in a blink when they noticed him. Never lingering, but always there. In the beginning, he stayed to ensure that nobody touched the Beast when it was burning hot, no unfortunate Rito tried to land on her head. _After all,_ he had reasoned. _Now that Ganon is gone, they'll want to investigate it._ That excuse lasted a day.

The next 'reason' he didn't ascend to the divine realm and re-enter the cycle of rebirth was to check out the village. He hadn't had time, standing at his post for months on end, awaiting Link's signal. When Calamity was dead? He left his Beast, though his spirit was still somewhat tethered there, and wandered the town as he pleased, invisible to the eye, but not to the soul. Every Rito he passed too close to looked at where he had been, though none could see him... None but the medics, who tracked his spirit with dark eyes, but said nothing. His town was small. The outskirt settlements were abandoned, with too many monsters roaming to make living there safe. Everyone moved onto the lake's islands, and 'everyone' was less than a hundred-odd Rito. The sight... Saddened him. He had stood by the Goddess Statue and talked to himself that night, as loud as he wanted, because nobody could hear him. He paced back and forth, his glowing talon making no noise on the wood.

"Well, this is absolutely unacceptable! How can I leave when there's nobody left?! I'll wait until the next Matching Ceremony, and then I'll leave. Best to ensure the village is still growing."

With that, Revali had taken up watch on the Beast again. It wasn't like he had to simply sit and wait, day in, day out. The passage of time was what he wanted it to be. He had learned, in that hundred year interim, how to 'sleep' as a spirit. He didn't need to, but it passed the time and allowed his restless form some... Well, rest! When he was not resting, he was watching the village below, unseen. Most of the time, anyway. He waved to the hatchlings beneath him, as he had always loved them in life. He took note of the warriors who lived there. _Not many,_ he'd noticed, with an unhappy twist of his beak. _Not many at all._ When he got bored with that? He visited the other Champions. He was not the only one who found moving on to be difficult.

* * *

Mipha was the one he visited first. He had been closest to her, in life, as her gentle ways and soothing atmosphere made her willing to put up with his boasting. He found her in a sorry state, one dreary, drizzly afternoon, as the rain pattered onto the stone of Vah Ruta. She was sitting on Ruta's upraised trunk, legs pulled up close to her chest, watching her world go by. Revali landed behind her without a sound, as he couldn't make one. The rain phased through his body, as he wasn't making an effort to be corporeal. It was odd, the first time it had happened, with the constant urge to puff and preen himself, although he no longer needed to. Now he was simply used to it, approaching her until he was stood at her side. "And whatever has you so sad, Mipha?"

The Zora Princess blinked, raising her head to look at him. Revali's arms were crossed behind his back, and he checked the urge to bop her on the head, gently, for allowing him to sneak up on her. She had the grace to look embarrassed, but she had the grace to do everything. "Oh, Revali," she said, fidgeting where she sat. She made a move to stand, but Revali waved a wing, urging her back down. Mipha complied with the silent command, but moved regardless, curling her legs to the side to sit a bit more properly. "I am glad to see you. Please do not think my mood is because of your presence."

"I wouldn't dream of it. But you haven't answered my question."

"I have not," Mipha agreed warily. Her voice was high, and gentle. Mentally, Revali compared them to the winds on the edge of the clouds, when he soared high enough to brush the bottom of the lowest ones. The red princess carried on, though her tone was forcibly neutral. "I was simply... Thinking."

"About what?" Relentless in his pursuit of the cause of her unhappiness, he sat down himself. It was a somewhat awkward endeavor, having to collapse his legs under himself, his somewhat long arms having to ease his form to the floor. Rito were made to glide, lay in hammocks, and sit in chairs. The ground was not the best option, but he made do, in the name of comforting her. He gave her space, but she always seemed to do better when she was close to someone. 

The Zora had a shuddering breath, dragging one hand gently down a fin that dangled by her cheek. "Link and the Princess visited Vah Ruta last week." Revali stayed silent, hoping that she would be prompted to speak again, to fill it. His patience was rewarded. "I am unsure how to feel about him, now that I am..."

"Deceased," Revali supplied. He would have said 'dead', but she looked so close to tears he didn't want to say the word and prompt an outburst. The clouds, flat and grey, hovered over his head like a blanket. Mipha nodded her head gently.

"I could not tell him, even when he saved my life. I know there is no hope that we could be together. Not now. But I still want to be there. With him. Protecting him, even if he does not need me. And the Zora... How can I abandon them when they still think of me?"

By now, the dam on Mipha's emotions had broken, and a tear rolled down her face. Inwardly, Revali panicked. He was never good with other people's emotions. He had been called names, on multiple occasions, many of them referring to how rude he could be. He was not equipped to handle this. However, in his panic, he settled for the option that he was least comfortable with: Offering her comfort. He didn't like to be touched. He didn't like others touching him. However... This was Mipha. They were good friends, and she had touched him before. She needed him. With a gentle rush of air in lungs that no longer breathed, he reached his arm out and put it around her. She fell into his chest immediately, and he brought her closer to him. Revali let her cry, watching Zora's Domain below.

Vah Ruta had never moved from its spot in the Reservoir, a silent sentinel, legs entrenched in the deep water. Revali had been to Zora's Domain when he was alive, and it hadn't... Changed very much, the giant statue of Mipha aside. The architecture was gorgeous, with gigantic arches and soaring bridges. It looked like the entire domain had been chipped out of ice, expertly molded into a shining city of crystal. It was all made of luminous stone, he had heard, and he had to agree that it lent the place an otherworldly beauty. It glowed, with soft, cold light, casting a shine onto the scales of the numerous Zora who lived there. Far more of the fish folk had survived than the bird people of Lake Totori, likely due to their longevity. Revali noted children racing one another on the bridges with his sharp eyesight, chased by exasperated mothers. _Heh. Imagine being a child for a hundred years._ The irony occurred to him, then and there, that he had been twenty-nine for nearly a hundred and one years. Casting the thought away like a rotten bit of fruit, he caught sight of Sidon.

He'd known the Prince years ago when he was alive. Sidon had been a courageous, yet somewhat short-sighted boy. He was non-verbal but was quick to blow the whistle looped around his neck when he got into serious trouble. However, the boy's perception of 'trouble' was skewed. Revali recalled, fondly, the time that the prince had blown the whistle loud enough to send all four Champions running...

* * *

It was warm and humid, and Revali disliked both those qualities in the air. The humidity stuck to his feathers and made them uncomfortably sticky, and his thick plumage made even the slight heat somewhat tacky and oppressing. It made him think that spring was coming, and that made him want to preen, so every ten seconds he was checking the urge to pull his autumn feathers that most certainly were not due to be plucked out yet. In other words, every petty complaint and gripe was piling on top of the next until he was certain Urbosa was about to smack him over the head with her shield. _Good,_ he sniffed dismissively, staring over the edge of a soaring bridge as the other Champions walked ahead of him. _Maybe then I'll escape this muggy atmosphere._ He found his beak drifting to his shoulder with intent to pluck his feathers and scowled, rubbing it ferociously with a hand. He imagined he could almost feel the condensation upon it.

Lost in his own thoughts, and trailing farther and farther behind the group with every passing minute, it took several tries to get his wandering attention. Eventually, the cataclysmic snapping of Urbosa's fingers shook him out offf his daze. He startled, grabbing his Great Eagle Bow with a hand, ready to leap into the air to attack. Why would Urbosa snap if not to eliminate some threat? As he looked around, sharp eyes pinning to catch any sign of danger, the others snickered at him behind their hands. Revali glared at them as Daruk gave him a wide, open grin. At least Zelda had the decency to look away and to not laugh, but she always wore an expression like a rather wet, flat-faced dog. He gave Urbosa a dirty look, but she was unphased, cocking her hips to one side. One had was planted on them, and the other languished in the air, her fingers poised to snap again. "Champions to Revali, are you paying attention?"

"No," he answered honestly. He had no patience for this. "I want to go home and I don't particularly care about... What were you even discussing, the applications of Fleet Lotus Seeds in potions?"

The Gerudo woman rolled her eyes and flicked her head, beckoning him back to the group. He remained rooted to his spot. "Actually, we were talking about battle plans, if you'd like to pitch in your years of expertise on the subject."

 _Tricky woman._ Revali did love to brag about how good he was at fighting. He narrowed his eyes and clicked his beak at her to show his irritation, fluffing his feathers. They were nearly glued together, and the feeling of the plumes pulling apart made him cringe in utter disgust. Mipha leaned to the side, looking past the other Champions. She had been bringing up the head of the group, as she knew this Domain well, staying by Link's side. "Are you feeling alright, Revali?" She asked, always concerned about her friends. He didn't have the heart to be mean to her.

Rather than launch into a tirade about how much he hated this land and where all this water could shove itself, the Rito huffed. "My ankles hurt, that's all," he said. "Walking on all these slick surfaces is hard. I have to walk on my talons and it's tiring. Are these bridges always so _wet?"_

"Revali, we are surrounded by waterfalls."

He whipped his head around to snap at Urbosa again and give her a piece of his absolutely drenched mind, but a sharp, high-pitched noise cut through his anger. The Champions looked among each other, clearly at a loss, but Mipha gasped. "Sidon!" She cried, looking poised to leap down into the lake below were she to be startled again. Daruk looked to her with apt confusion.

"What about the little guy?"

"That's his whistle, we gave it to him to blow whenever he was in trouble!" The Zora princess was frantic, leaned over the railing and looking down at the Zora town below. The other Zora guards were now rushing like someone had thrown a stone into their beehive, calling to one another. Revali looked back to Mipha as she turned to the others once more. "We have to go and find him! Oh, I hope he hasn't run up Ploymous Mountain again, I-"

That was all the hysterics Revali could take. Without a word edgewise, he leaped onto the railing and spread out his wings. The others gawked at him, but he didn't care, calling over his shoulder. "I'll go and look on the banks," was all he said. Then he let himself fall. He knew Mipha hated it when he did that, she always said he looked like he was going to hit the ground. But he never did. As he plummeted down, watching the Domain pass by in double speed, he allowed himself to feel the air currents that whistled around the luminous stone pillars and arches. There was a slight updraft today, given the warm weather, and he could work with that. His wings caught the latent, stale breeze in the domain and kicked it into a roar, and as he approached the water's surface, he tilted his wings. The winds carried him back into a coasting motion, and he barely had to flap his wings to hover over the glassy lake, which was quickly developing ripples from the winds. He was barely skimming the surface, were he to put his legs out, he'd be able to touch the water with his talons. He tilted his head to look at the basin's edge, searching for the tiny splash of red that betrayed the Prince's location. His eyes were sharp, thanks to his falcon ancestry, allowing him to scan the cliffs and shores of the deep pool where the Zora lived with ease. Nothing there. Revali frowned. How far could he have gone?

Not very, was his answer. With a few hard beats of his wings, he summoned his Gale. The winds that whistled past him now screamed as he bore himself up in a whirlwind, spinning within it and allowing it to play with him. Merely for a moment, as when he had gained enough height to crest the basin, he angled his wings sharply. He cut out of his mini tornado and arced across the rocks and sparse trees that dotted the steppes, gliding over the land. His Gale was a fickle thing, hard to master, with a will of it's own. At times it could be playful and cooperative. At times, it kicked and fought. It was always best to escape it the moment he could, lest it's mood swing dark and decide to throw him out of it's embrace. 

He swung over the Veiled Falls, stalling in the air to watch and wait, looking for a bobbing red head. Nothing. He tucked his wings in and dove to pick up speed, then coasted around the back of the Domain, up towards the deep pool of the dam. Nothing there either, merely a few Zora guards who had beaten him to the punch. Shaking his head and leaving this section to them, he tilted himself to the right and headed towards Ploymous Mountain, though he was keen to drop his altitude. At it's peak rested a Red-Maned Lynel, and though he could easily take it down on his own? He would rather not stir up trouble unless he had to. He headed towards Mikau Lake.

At last, his search was rewarded. At the edge of Mikau Lake, sitting on the shore beneath a tree, a tiny red dot. Revali almost missed him upon his first pass, hidden under the canopy as he was, but not much could escape his sharp eyes. Tucking in his wings, he dove for the lake itself, watching the water get closer and closer. He gauged how close he had to be to the center of it correctly, and as he spread his wings to slow his descent and allow him to land, putting out his talons to come to a running stop, he barely brushed the edge of it. The water was cold against his legs, providing some measure of relief from the heat. Inwardly, he cringed at being wet again. As his talons dug into solid ground, grinding him to a halt, he put one hand to his bow, and the other was primed to pull an arrow from his quiver.

To his credit, the little Prince didn't seem too startled by the rescue. His whistle laid forlornly on the ground, though he seemed scared to reach for it, sitting under the tree with tears streaking down his face. Revali scanned the lake for danger, but... Nothing. No Moblins. Not a Keese to be seen. Merely the gentle lapping of waves at the water's edge, the sun shining off of it merrily. Revali sighed, and took out his bow. He nocked a single bomb arrow, watching the young prince carefully as he did so. Sidon didn't seem too scared, so Revali carefully lit it. No reaction. Drawing the string back as far as it could go, he waited. And waited. And waited. He knew exactly how long the fuse was, and when five seconds had passed, he loosed it. Far above, at the peak of it's arc, the Bomb Arrow exploded, making a hell of a noise and a bright flash of light. "That should bring your sister right to us," he declared. He put his bow onto his back, allowing the magnets to click together and secure it. Then, he put his hands on his hips and looked down at the tiny Zora boy. "Well?" He demanded. "What's the problem?"

Prince Sidon, the pride and joy of the Zora race, looked up at him with a trembling bottom lip. He looked absolutely pitiful, and Revali felt bad for him. As the silence stretched on, the realization struck him. "Right. Mipha told me this. You don't talk." 

Sidon sniffled and rubbed his eyes with a hand, and Revali noticed the absolute tiniest cut in the world on his pointer finger, with a small streak of blood leaking out of it. _Oh, winds above, help me._ _Is this the big fuss?_ He took a step towards the Prince and kneeled down, one clawed foot planted firmly in the grass. "Right then, let's see it." Exasperated as he was with the panic over a papercut, he held his hand out patiently, feathers spread out. Sidon sniffled, clearly distrusting of this not-sister entity, but at last, he relinquished the injured limb. Revali struggled not to roll his eyes to the heavens above and ask Hylia to give the boy some courage.

It was a small cut, barely the width of the pad of Sidon's finger. It was extremely shallow and had already stopped bleeding, any blood still remaining was half-dried as it was. The Rito Champion was good with children, but really? "Did you cut yourself on a shell?" He asked, looking down at the cut. He had been instructed to be wary around the Prince. He didn't talk and tended not to like it when people looked at him. Revali abided by these rules. "It doesn't look too bad, I'm sure your sister can- _Ow!"_

A sharp pain cut across his ankle, and he whipped his head around to look at it as Sidon's eyes went wide in fear. The boy scrambled back into the dirt and grass, as the world's smallest, bravest Bright-Eyed Crab waved it's pincers menacingly at Revali. The Rito, unimpressed, watched as it skittered back to the silver whistle on the ground, and continued it's petrifying display. "Is this nasty little thing what hurt you?" He asked Sidon, not really expecting an answer. He heard the Zora's silver jewelry clink as he nodded his head yes, his head fin dragging on the ground. Revali sighed and stood up. Yes, he was bleeding, but it was more important to chase the crab away to calm the boy down. "You tried to catch it and it pinched you, and you dropped your whistle when you blew on it. Now it thinks that the whistle is his, Sidon. Entitled thing."

There were no crabs near the village. It was too cold to support them in Lake Totori. Revali had no experience being the crab-chaser, destroyer of crustaceans, but it was important to get the whistle back. Sidon needed it, after all. Revali stood and thought about it, one hand resting under his beak. _Well. What scares smaller creatures? What scares fish? Noise. Noise and movement._ Revali approached the crab, unperturbed by its pincer waving, and stomped his foot before it. The ground vibrated, and the crab skittered an inch away, though it came right back to guard its prize.

The stomping had another effect, however. Behind him, Revali heard a... Giggle. He looked over his shoulder. Sidon, from his safe vantage point in the grass, was giggling at the show. Something inside Revali warmed, and a smile twitched at his beak. _Oh, we like that, do we?_ Children were his weak point, and he turned back to the crab. "Begone, foul thing! You don't know who you're messing with!" He stomped his feet at it again and flapped his wings. The crab, wholly uninterested in fighting something Revali's size, skittered back. Inch by inch, Revali threatened the crab back to where it belonged, in the lake, minus it's ill-gotten whistled. Sidon continued to laugh behind him, urging the Rito on. Revali was delighted to entertain. The crab gave one last defiant lunge at the Rito, who jumped at it to challenge the attack, and then quickly slipped into the water and disappeared.

Behind him, Sidon clapped, his giggles now turning into actual laughter. Revali smiled, allowing it to take over his whole beak. With one arm behind his back, and one on his chest, he bowed to the Prince. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all day to re-enact 'The Great Crab Chase'. You can give your tickets back to the man at the door." He rose, and went back to the whistle a few steps away. He was sure to check for more crabs as he leaned down to pick it up, but no more crustaceans assaulted him as he presented the silver toy back to the Zora Prince. Sidon blinked up at him, eyes wide with admiration.

"Don't lose it again. I would hate to have to chase a crab much bigger than that."

* * *

Mipha had come and found them shortly after, and Revali gave her the run-down of the events... Minus the impromptu show. She had healed Sidon's wounds and given him a minor scolding for using the whistle over something so frivolous, but it wasn't meant harshly. Later that same day, he had gone missing once more, and the Champions had found him with a spear twice his length, attempting to face down a Moblin, with not one thought given to his whistle. In the moment it was terrifying, but now, Revali reflected, perhaps the prince was better for the experiences. He was tall, and brave, and had quite a fanclub of young girls around him. Revali remembered when he had that.

Eventually, were it hours or minutes from when Mipha started her crying, she stopped. She had taken to slight hiccups and sniffs, but her arms, which had been thrown around Revali's body, were loosening, as she meant to pull away. The Rito Champion stroked her side, and she got his message. Neither one of them had been touched since they had died, and the friendly contact was welcomed, despite Revali's aversion to it. He allowed her to lean against him in something that was halfway to a cuddle, mainly a cry for attention. Revali took a deep breath. "Mipha," he prodded gently, eyes flicking down to watch her body language, seeing if she was ready to talk yet or not. Her large golden eyes peeked up at him, her cheek resting on his ribs. He looked away, back at the Domain. "Do you remember what Zelda said to us? Before we were Champions."

He could tell from her silence that the Zora was trying to remember, or perhaps, composing herself. He waited until she was ready to reply. Softly, her voice floated up to his ear. "She said... We were reborn sages."

"That's right," he agreed. "We have been around since the Sages were created. You are Ruta, and Ruto, and every time Ganon has risen, you have been there to help Link." His own distaste for the knight aside, he pushed forward. "I am Medli, and Laruto, and I have been there too. So this time, we were murdered. We've been there. It didn't work out with you and Link. But there will always be another Ganon." He found himself staring down the metaphorical barrel of his fate, but refused to dwell on it. Instead, he patted Mipha's side. "Next time we are reborn, it will still be you. And Link will still be Link. And you will have all the time in the world to be with him, in every lifetime after this." _So do stop crying?_ He added silently.

The little princess released him, slowly, her arms going back to hug herself. Revali, sensing that she was done listening to him, got back to his feet. This was easier than sitting down, aided slightly by his Gale, pushing a touch of wind against his wings to help himself rise. The rain had stopped, though thunder still rolled in the distance. "He has your Grace. I think it is time that you moved on, Mipha. There is nothing left for you here. We will all be there when we are reborn again." He reached out to put his hand on top of her head, then leapt off Vah Ruta's trunk. He soared over the Domain, then allowed himself to wink out of existence.

The next day, he had heard gossip in the village, hanging out on top of the Rito infirmary. Vah Ruta had gone dark the night prior.


	2. Goron Stalwart, part 1

The next Champion that Revali graced with his presence was Daruk. That had been a month past the visit he made to Mipha, and winter gripped Rito Village tight in its icy claws. The Rito of Lake Totori were all equipped with thick, heavy feathers, even the babies were well-covered in plumage made to handle the snows and whistling winds. However, the last winter Revali had seen first-hand was six months prior to the Calamity, when the Rito were so plentiful that they spilled over onto the smaller islands spread out through the lake. In fact? That was not enough space either. More Rito were crowded into the woods around the lake, living as ranchers, supplying the village with its own meat and eggs. That was a hundred years ago. Revali had noticed, as he spent his days watching his village, that there were as many Rito in the village, young and old alike, as there had been warriors in his time. Perhaps more. Certainly not less. Their population had dwindled so badly that every Rito he saw, he could now name. He could never do that in his time. There were simply too many, and he was too busy training to bother learning them all. In any case, in every winter, the Rito would band together and tough it out, no matter how many hatchlings had to crowd into a single nest to keep them all warm, no matter how many excursions to cut wood had to be made.

That was not the case. The Rito scuttled up and down the Spire that held the village like dead leaves, ducking in and out of homes, avoiding the blizzard that raged on outside. Every blizzard in Revali's time was met with caution, but brotherhood and comradery. Now they were... Isolated, even from one another. From his vantage point within the Divine Beast, Revali could tell, their wood stores were getting low. In the past, when he was running out of wood in his home, though that was rare, he would simply ask Motal. A friend, a brother in some ways, he and Motal had been close one hundred years ago. They trained together. Revali would practice new moves him before demonstrating them to a crowd, and he knew the young hawk would never tell a soul about them. Another benefit? Motal's sisters ran a ranch, and they typically had firewood to spare, and the muscle to help carry it back to the Spire.

There was no family of hawk sisters in this time. Merely snow and harsh cold, weather too extreme to dare to even go down to the stable and beg to have it. Not that it was open, all the travelers there had arrived well in advance, and any new-comers were rushed inside and told not to leave until the storm lightened up a little. Revali laid inside his Divine Beast, the terminal glowing behind him. He was spread out on a hammock, one he had hung here when he first felt safe enough to sleep within the mechanical eagle. With one hand, he was holding the display that her underside camera was able to capture. The other was tucked behind his head, and he was pulling gently on a braid. He couldn't 'feel' the hammock, and as he could sleep anywhere, there was no point to being here. However, the image of snow phasing through his body was off-putting, so he took shelter within her. Vah Medoh's iron-tight walls, with her vents shut, did not allow any snow or frigid blast to reach him.

Revali knew it was cold even though he couldn't feel it, even though the idling of the Beast was warming her interior even slightly. "They'll make it through this," he said to himself. He spread his fingers out, zooming in on the holographic display above him. He could control her with mere flicks of his hand. He didn't even need to be standing at the terminal to summon this camera feed. His own voice did not convince him of this statement. "There's no need to ask for help." He spoke again, though now he was closing the display and getting up. "I don't need to do this," was his last reply to empty, silent air. Well, mostly empty.

Vah Medoh's spirit was here, with him. She always had been, her presence making itself known the day he had met his Beast. Mainly, by giving him an emotional recall so bad he had half-fainted and then burst into tears with the force of all his past lives crowding in at once. Other than that, they got along kindly. She was the pilot of this Divine Beast, long ago. She was the original pilot, actually, and it was named after her. If the Divine Beast had a name of its own back when Medoh was alive, Medoh hadn't, or couldn't, make it known. Her spirit was so old that she couldn't speak to him directly, most of the time, even now that he was dead. Merely give him a vague feeling now and then, and her feeling now was telling him to go. Revali phased through the Beast to climb atop the mechanical eagle's head, looking at the sad cooking fires below.

He fell off the Beast's nose and angled his wings towards Death Mountain.

* * *

'Teleporting', as a spiritual concept, was one he had learned how to do. It had come in handy plenty when the Blight was chasing his spirit down in that hundred-year interim. Now that he was free, however, he used the ability far more sparingly, and he had a good reason. He missed flying. When he was dead, the thing he missed the most was soaring through the air, allowing the winds, those he controlled and those he did not, to bear him up in the air and hold him. He had learned all sorts of fancy aerial maneuvers from a close friend in his time, a hummingbird named Blythe. In terms of raw damage output, she was sorely lacking, but in speed and skill in the air, she was unbeatable. Revali knew, he had tried; whenever they raced they always came out with a dead even win ratio. He missed her, and dearly so, but he couldn't move on yet. The Ceremony was in late spring, and perhaps then, he could move on. Or maybe he would need to check on the chicks when they hatched. That would take another nine months.

On autopilot, despite no longer being at all susceptible to such hazards, he lowered his altitude when he neared Death Mountain. He had discovered that there was no longer much excitement, or happiness, to be gained through flying. Certainly, there was the sensation of looking down and seeing the world race by below, but there was no longer the physical aspect. Feeling his wings beat, adjusting to the air current, smelling the breeze, and going through clouds, merely to see the water collect on his perfectly preened feathers. Even speed no longer truly mattered, as he went as quickly as he wanted to go, no matter the wind speed, were it a headwind or a tailwind, the weather ahead, nothing. It would be quicker, easier, and less painful on his heart, simply to teleport there. Instead, he continued to fly, despite it being a practice in madness, and truly, a waste of time in general. He always took great care in coming to Death Mountain, ever since the one incident.

* * *

Ornery, stubborn, and downright cantankerous, Revali took great pride in being hard to manipulate into doing just about anything, even things he really needed to be doing. However, this strategy had a few sticking points. Whenever Zelda needed Revali to do something, no arguments, no rebuttals, and no general bullshit, she sent Urbosa. And she always did it in the morning.

Revali was not, what one might call, a 'morning person'. The proverb about early birds and worms did not apply, though he was partially a whiskey jack, the rest of his blood was pure merlin. He was a night owl due to his training schedule and found such habits hard to break even when staying away from home, like at Hyrule Castle with the Champions. How he had been talked into being here overnight was a mystery, as he hated to be away from his village and his people, but he was there. The day had been boring, and he hardly paid attention to a word that was said. He did perk up, partially, during afternoon training, in which he soundly whipped Daruk and Urbosa. Mipha gave him trouble, their bouts went on for several minutes, and every time, Revali was beating her more and more soundly. However, the other Champions wanted a 'break', to 'eat dinner', they said. Mipha promised him they would continue when she was done eating, but the other Champions and Zelda got so into talking that by the time they had finished their gossiping, it was late at night. Urbosa practically carried Zelda to bed and told Revali he should sleep as well.

He had turned his back on her and walked away, leaving behind the warm fire of the sitting room and the now-cold, after-dinner tea in favor of wandering.

It turned out the castle was boring. Whenever Revali got lost, he simply wandered until he came upon a window, then opened and leaped out of it. He did this until a maid caught him and scolded him, and then, he waltzed around the ground. His night vision was passable, a touch better than a Hylian's, but nowhere near as good as other Rito. He watched the night and found himself frowning. "Too much light here," he'd grumbled, pulling out his bow and an arrow. "Can't even see the stars." He was not tired, and in fact, he found the prospect of sleep in a 'bed' to be daunting and uncomfortable. Rito slept in hammocks, not beds, and he felt that having to ask about one more than once was below him. Instead, he found a different avenue to entertain himself with until the sky began to lighten at the very bottom edge. Then, he crawled into bed.

Dragging himself into the dining hall like a rather pretty corpse the next morning, he had collapsed into a chair, picked up a bagel, and began to gnaw on it. He ignored the other Champion's greetings and continued to pick at his zombie bagel, tired out of his wits. Usually, he would still be asleep. This castle operated on a Draconian schedule. Who woke up at dawn to eat breakfast? However exhausted he was, his sharp eyes didn't miss Zelda whispering into Urbosa's ear, and when the Gerudo chief stood up, he was in no mood to argue. She slammed her hands onto the table before her. He didn't deign to look up from his bagel, nor his freshly-poured tea. She sat across from him, making her slam all the more intimidating, and he was proud to not react in any discernable way.

"Revali, we need you at Death Mountain next week."

"Mmph," he replied, engrossed in what he called a 'meal'. His eating habits were abysmal, even in company, never eating quite enough. He had the caloric demands of his mother, but got his appetite from his songbird father. 

The heat of Urbosa's appalled stare burned into the top of his head, as he bent to look at his plate. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"I do not like to sleep in beds. And I was busy."

"Doing _what?"_

Picking up his teacup, he took a long, long sip, waiting until she carried on with her statement. Eventually, she rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Seven days, be at Eldin Tower by six, sharp. We want to make it to Goron City by noon to avoid the midday heat."

"Mm-hm," came his assent, prior to him even recognizing what he was agreeing to. Slowly, he dragged his lime eyes up the table to glare at her. She smirked back, triumphant in getting him to comply. He poured all the rage and indignation into his stare, but her own could not be beaten. Grunting in defeat, he, at last, was woken up enough to taste what he was eating. An everything bagel. _Acceptable enough._ Daruk began talking in his ear, but it was too early and too unimportant for Revali to truly give a damn, so he tuned the Goron out. Daruk was typically too loud regardless, and he was talking about the 'little guy' and 'arrows' and 'combustion'. 'Little guy' typically meant Link, so this had to be an arrow lesson. He made a mental note not to bring any normal arrows to the Mountain and to pack White Chu-Chu jelly in his quiver to prevent anything from catching aflame.

"Didja get all that, Revali?"

Bagel halfway to his mouth, he flicked his eyes up to the Goron. He absolutely had not been listening. Thankfully, to avoid an awkward re-explanation, Link ducked into the dining hall. This was one of the only times he was _glad_ to see the knight, although morning training did not allow Link to catch breakfast most days. Revali was typically happy about that. However, it got him out of listening to Daruk, and the silent knight wore a confused, even bewildered expression on his face. Revali knew why, and picked up his tea.

Zelda looked up at her knight's arrival, and her countenance brightened considerably. "Oh, good morning, Link! Did knight training end early?"

Link shook his head. Hanging from the doorframe by the tip of his boot, he raised both hands to flick them about. Born mute, he'd had to learn some sort of sign language to communicate, not that he used it much. Revali had been taught this language too, though it was nearly impossible for Ritos, with their feathered hands, to learn to perform it. Revali could still read it, though, and his smirk grew with every passing moment. Zelda furrowed her brow in confusion as Link's concerns came to light.

"Your... Bow targets are full?"

 _Jackpot._ Revali smirked into his cup. "Oh, were those set up for a reason?" He asked, nonchalant and innocent. "I thought some hatchlings had gotten in and made a mess of the arrangement, and had some fun myself. Sorry, I see empty targets, I cannot help myself. You must pardon me, sleepless night."

The knight gave him a look across the room, and Urbosa started on a lecture, but he zoned out and finished his tea. He simply didn't care.

* * *

It turned out Zelda was more onto his brand of careless nonsense than she let on. For once, Revali truly showed up when he was told to do so, though his trip was somewhat delayed. He had taken a potion of fire-resistance, which he drank when the air became hot. That could not stop the mountain from pumping its problems into the sky. Every minute or so, he seemed to choke on something that this putrid mountain spit out. The clouds of dark smog were easy to avoid, as they rolled thick and high into the air. However, the white smoke looked nearly identical to clouds, until he soared into it and caught a beakful of _blehck._ Ritos didn't always have the best luck with respiratory problems, really, they were susceptible to them, so by the time he arrived at the Tower, he was in a sour mood. Dirty, coughing, and too hot, he wanted to turn around and go home altogether. However, he did like to keep his word, and he had said he would be here. So he was.

Who was not here was literally everybody else. Revali lighted on the Tower and leaped up onto the railing that surrounded one of the climbing entrances. He looked down and saw... Nobody. Not a travel-pack, not a shield, nothing. Not a whisper a person had ever been here. Most people would be worried, were their companions not to arrive at the agreed upon time. Revali was simply exasperated. "Oh, damn the little princess, smart as a whip. Caught onto me being late so much she made me show up early." He rolled his eyes, complained, and generally had his fit, but he needed to admit, even to the air, that she was quite sly. _Inviting me early to ensure I get here at a reasonable time. Clever._ Once the world knew it, he settled about something more important: Preening. He smelled like smoke and volcano belch, and he didn't exactly like that. He dug into his quiver, rummaging about as quickly as he could.

He had remembered to pack White Chu Chu jelly, crammed it around his arrows as best he could. It was wet, slimy, and generally unpleasant, but a necessary precaution. It was packed most tightly around his Bomb Arrows, and he had even soaked them in a little snow prior to leaving, so they would stay dormant in just heat. They were a design he had made himself, blast powder, flint pieces, some Red ChuChu jelly, and a long fuse. The design allowed them to be lit and timed to explode, or to go off on impact. He'd heard about Taluses in the area, and wanted to be prepared, so the extra work to bring them was worth it. However, as 'worth it' as the jelly was, it was disgusting, so he dug as quickly as he could to pull out his feather-care kit.

Mainly, it was a set of combs, some powder, a mirror, and his face paints, but it was important he looked his best at all times."You're the pride of the Rito," he reminded himself, re-applying his red streaks of valor with care. "You must look the part." Clenching his talons to the railing to ensure he didn't fall, he set about picking flakes of ash and charcoal from his feathers as meticulously as he could.

That entertainment lasted around fifteen minutes. He'd been doing his own feathers for years, even the most dramatic of messes could usually be improved with a quick clean-up, if not completely erased. He did not look like he did when he soared away from home this morning, but it was a far cry from his previously messy state, so he took what he could get. It was then he noticed, at last, some company was arriving. Far away, ramping over the crags of Death Mountain, the Goron Champion rolled towards him. He'd always wondered how rolling felt. Was it as liberating as flying? When a baby Goron rolled into its first ball, did they feel as Rito hatchlings did when their beginner's set of flight feathers came in? The thought occupied him until Daruk rolled to the path near the Tower's base. Picking up his now-sopping wet quiver without noticing anything amiss, he stepped off the railing, plummetted, and opened his wings. A little breath of the Gale stopped his momentum prior to him ever getting anywhere near danger, but Daruk still looked displeased.

A tall man, Revali was not. He tended to beat most Hylians in that department, only barely, but his own kind towered above him. Daruk was another kind of 'tower', and as his beady eyes peered down at Revali, he got the distinct feeling he was being worried over. He put his beak in the air, a move that was usually more effective when he could actually look down it at whoever had displeased him. "So, finally, one of you decided to show up." 

The Goron sighed, scratching his white hair with a large, meaty hand. Or was it rocky? _Are Gorons made of rocks?_ He wondered.

Classification questions aside, Daruk grumbled his concerns. "You gotta stop doing that, Vali. You scare me every time you walk off an edge."

 _Vali._ He hated the nickname, a stinging retort dropping out of his beak without truly thinking. "Unlike you, I do not drop like a rock, and I am capable of stopping my own descents whenever I choose to stop them."

Daruk's face split in a grin, ever a cheery sort. His square teeth jutted out like the bones of a Leviathan, and Revali elegantly sidestepped the wide, back-breaking slap that Gorons called a 'friendly gesture'. "Hah! I guess you're right."

The Rito tutted, waving a single feather in the air. "Brittle bones, Daruk. I am very pretty, but I would shatter like glass in your hand. Careful now."

"Oh. Right." His expression dropped somewhat, and he put his hand to his chin, rubbing the beard that grew there thoughtfully. "Sorry. You Rito are so different from us."

At once, Revali launched into his speech, pacing around the dirt path. "We Rito are a young and fiercely independent race, and we-"

 _"Pride ourselves on our ability to thrive alone,"_ Daruk finished. Revali gave him as withering of a glare as he could muster, but the Goron simply laughed again. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. We're not like that. We're friendly!"

"At times, too friendly." Revali sniffed, then. Paused. He sniffed again, the acrid tang of burning registering in his nostrils. He waved a wing in front of his beak and cringed. "Ugh, does this place always smell like someone didn't douse a campfire properly?"

Daruk's entertaining mood began to drain away as he put his own nose to the air. "Huh, that's strange. Yeah, it tends to smell like fire here," he conceded, "but not like that?" Daruk's small, deep blue eyes turned to look around the mountain, and Revali scoffed.

"Oh, how wonderous. A special, terrible smell, just for me. This place is hotter than hell. It is hell," he added. Revali was sweating under his feathers, puffing them out as far as he could and shaking himself to generate a little wind. However, it didn't seem to help, and the smell became more intense. His breath was getting short with the amount of it, invisible, but choking, and he turned his back to the Goron. His head went over his shoulder to give Daruk another rebuke about his home being horrible. He became aware of two things, very suddenly. One, his back was burning hot with a heat that wasn't so ambient. Two, the burning smell was generating from his quiver. Daruk also noticed these things, but prior to Revali's ability to voice what had happened, he had already decided the time was for action.

One hand gripped Revali tightly around the wing. Too tightly. He yanked, spinning the Rito around on his talons, causing him to skip a step in his attempt to avoid the yank. The other hand ripped the quiver away from his back, breaking the leather strap over his ribs, and perhaps a rib or two to boot. The motion, the jostling, and the general heat of the mountain itself caused the literal ticking time bombs to, at last, detonate. The force of the blast was intense at such a close range, even with Daruk's attempt to throw the arrows. As Revali coughed, he found himself tucked, too forcefully, into Daruk's enveloping ward of Protection, with an added layer of Goron arms.

 _Seems as good a time as any to pass right the fuck out,_ his lungs, spoiled with crisp Hebra air, declared. His brain agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I NEED to split this one into two parts I am S O sorry about that!!! It was getting incredibly long. I'll have the part two done soon!


	3. Goron Stalwart, part 2

The thing that struck Revali the hardest was the unmistakable reek of horses. He hated the smell of those beasts, and was always sure to complain to Link about how much the scent of whatever random steed he had chosen that morning clung to him. For all Revali knew, or cared, it was the same horse every time, but he didn't pay attention to the color or height of it. Merely to how much the damn things smelled. This was not the first occasion he wished everyone could fly, but it was now the only time he wished such a thing because it might eliminate the need for horses altogether. This roundabout, musing path of his thoughts at last ended, and he could think about _why_ he smelled horses so strongly. He was in a stable. The somewhat musty air, the creak of wood, the muffled whinnies of tied-up horses all came together to tell him at the very least, he hadn't died. Swell.

The next thing he noticed, past the murky, uncertain pool that was his thoughts, was that he hurt. A tremendous amount, really, a deep-seated ache in his forearm, a throb in his shoulder, a stinging, itching sensation at the base of his back. A tight pressure was stretched across his ribs, like there was a sheet drawn over his body, with a Goron pulling down on both ends. Breathing was something of a chore, like he tried to leap into the air and soar, and got only a second or two away prior to being yanked back by a tether. Every time his lungs expanded past their normal capacity, he either coughed, or choked, and was now regretting ever stepping talon into Death Mountain.

It wasn't all bad, however. Cool hands were tracing over his sides, gentle and soothing in the repetitive, back and forth stroking. Whomever it was, they were careful to settle his feathers back down whenever they disturbed a single one out of place, touches tender. Like a lover. He knew who that could be, only one person would dare try to settle his feathers when he was hurting. His mouth was dry, and it hurt to speak, but he tried to summon up a word regardless. "Kerrie?"

"Hmm? Oh, you're awake! My friends, he's woken up."

The voice that greeted him was not, in fact, 'Kerrie'. He opened one eye, at last, to take in the scene around him, although he didn't desire to. He had the immediate desire to close it, seeing what, and who, was around him. He'd guessed correctly, he was in a stable, in the bed all the way at the back of the circular building. He wasn't under the covers all the way, merely up to his waist, and the latent heat in the air made him glad for it. His covering of slate-grey feathers were insulation enough. Clearly, somebody agreed, and he was at least partially undressed. His metal plates, shoulder pads, and Champion's scarf were all laid to the side on a table, neatly arranged so he could find them easily. They'd let him keep his skirt, but the red torso-wrap he had been wearing wasn't properly buckled, loose around his waist. The reason for this disheveled manner did make itself known rather quickly, as his eyes sharpened into clarity.

Mipha was standing by his bedside, leaning over him with attentive eyes. Her hands had been the ones stroking down his sides, likely working her healing magic, or at least trying to comfort him. She removed them at once when he woke up and folded them politely at her chest. She was fidgeting, and although she gave him a smile, it didn't quite reach her eyes. Her hands could not be stilled, stroking down a fin on the side of her head anxiously. Revali wondered how badly he had been hurt, to concern Mipha like this. Wait, Mipha was here?

He looked beyond her, towards the stable's entrance. There, talking in hushed voices at the entrance, stood the rest of the Champions, cast in shadow due to the early morning light. Revali would have rather died than have them all be here. The irony was not lost on him that perhaps he could have died, had Mipha not been available to heal him.

They looked up as one, varying degrees of worry and rapt concern etched across their faces. Revali shut his eye again, and reflexively tried to sigh in contempt and exasperation. The attempt at taking a deep breath had him stall, with pain ebbing into his lungs, and he began to cough. Every gasp had him wanting to cough harder, and it looked like he'd be caught in that loop eternally. Mipha's hands laid themselves tenderly across his chest, and though they were damp, her tingling sensation of healing magic did ease the fit. By the time he could catch a semi-complete breath, the Champions had come to stand at his bedside. Revali once again wished for death, rather than this embarrassment, especially when Mipha spoke to him again, in a voice she'd use for Sidon. "There now, try to rest, please." He was an _adult,_ he'd make his own choices.

When he tried to exercise this divine right, both Hylia and Mipha stopped him from sitting upright. Mipha with firm hands pushing his shoulder back down, and Hylia with more aching in his arm and ribs. He submitted himself to the bed. Daruk, and Zelda stood by anxiously, while Urbosa loomed over him with the force and opacity of a brewing thunderstorm. He looked up at her, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed and nose flared. Clearly, she was very pissed at him, and every word struck him like a bolt of lightning. "Don't you dare get up, Revali. Mipha has been working all day to put you back together."

 _All day?_ He cast his eyes back to the stable entrance. He had assumed that was mid-morning light, but... "It's. Evening?"

Urbosa rolled her eyes, head lilting to one side. "Yes. It's evening. You blew yourself up earlier today, how did you even get Bomb Arrows that close to the mountain? Why would you bring them when instructed not to?!"

Revali thought back to the breakfast conversation that had taken place the week prior. Perhaps something had been said about not bringing Bomb Arrows, he hadn't been listening too closely. Seeing as how her words clearly were pinging around in an empty skull, Urbosa scoffed and cocked her hips. Revali at last pulled an answer from the depths of his foggy mind. "I had packed White ChuChu jelly around them. I must have burst the sacs when I was digging for... Something." He would never admit he'd nearly killed himself by trying to pull out his feather-care kit. He raised his head slightly, peering at the table. Something was missing. His bow was there, thank Hylia, but. "... My quiver?"

Daruk cleared his throat, rubbing at the back of his neck with a hand. He was hunched over, and had tried to lower his volume, but he was still much too loud for Revali's liking. "Blown to smithereens across Death Mountain," he admitted. "I didn't think about saving it. Sorry, brother."

Revali laid his head back on the pillow with a thud, shutting his eyes. "That was mother's quiver," he said to the empty air. A large war quiver, heavy on his back, it was the only one big enough to pack all the White jelly he needed to make the Bomb Arrows safe to carry. Additionally, it was one of the only things he had left of her, aside from her war bow. It was too massive for even him to lift, as she had been much taller.

He hard Daruk hiss a breath through his teeth, and make a sound in his throat like he was going to apologize again. Revali cut him off. "Oh, it's alright," he said. "When was the last time she cared about something I did anyway?" The words carried a bitter venom, but they were out before he could think. An awkward pause followed, and at last, Zelda cleared her throat.

"I am thankful you are alright, Revali. When Daruk brought you here we feared the worst." The Hylian princess was wringing her hands at her waist, Sheikah Slate clipped to her belt. One of her hands strayed to it to touch it, assuring herself it was still there. "You weren't in a good way, broken bones and burns..."

So Daruk had saved him. Hmm. He didn't like owing anybody a debt like this. _I'll have to find a way to repay it._ "I keep warning you I'm brittle," he said, only halfway joking in his tone. "But, thank you all the same." He had a breath, only partially deep to avoid coughing again, and spoke. "Still. I shouldn't have passed out like that. Death Mountain isn't good for Rito, the fumes in the air are very harsh on our lungs. I'm much better than I appear, I assure you, with some time I'll be back in shape."

If Daruk's tiny eyes could 'bug' out of his head, Revali assumed this was the closest they could get. His expression was incredulous, mouth dropping open slightly. "Well why didn't you tell me that?! I wouldn't have made you come to Death Mountain at all!"

"Wasn't thinking about it," he said lightly. 

Fury arced across Urbosa's face, and she looked primed to do some real violence to him. Mipha was his savior, making a small 'um' sound. All eyes turned to her, and she looked down, tracing her fingertips across her temple. "I was wondering, Revali... Who is 'Kerrie'?"

Well, that was a question he absolutely didn't want to answer. Instead, he ignored it. "Mipha, as I'm not allowed to sit up and check, you didn't take my ankle guards off, did you?"

Surprise lit up her features. "Well, I had to remove the jade to check on your ankles, but otherwise no. Why?"

Revali sucked in a breath, shallow, but bracing. "Could you check my right ankle for me?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Do as I ask, please?"

Most people would tell him to get lost with that attitude, but Mipha did as she was bid, lifting the covers. Her hands were ginger as she examined the ankle, but Revali saw what he needed to see. Red and green string tied tightly above the bone that jutted out, twisted together in a lovely, though simple, pattern. He sighed with relief. "Oh, good. My bracelet's still there. "Kerari would have killed me if I lost that."

He was met with confusion abound, but Urbosa was the first to put the pieces together. In her society of women, matters of love and the heart were as common in their curriculum as reading. Her eyebrows shot up to meet her hairline. "You don't."

All eyes turned to Urbosa, as his leg was gently replaced back under the bedding. "Yes, I do. Kerari is my mate."

"You've had a _girlfriend?_ And you never told us?!" Daruk demanded, though it was merely out of excitement. Revali scowled.

"It's closer to a wife than a... Whatever that is, I don't know your Hylian nonsense terms. No, I'm not answering any mushy 'how long have you been together' questions. I didn't want to tell you about it at all."

Zelda's lips were pursed, her long, blonde hair catching the sunset's light and painting it shades of copper and gold. "Revali, why?"

"It simply wasn't any of your business. We Rito are independent, and I didn't want to drag her into this mess. She has enough to worry about at home with leading our warriors." He paused, then, deciding now was better than never, "you'll also be delighted to know we're expecting our first egg, so please keep this whole incident quiet? If she knew I did something this stupid, she would kill me."

* * *

The reaction to this announcement of a mate and eggs ranged from offence to never being told, to general acceptance. Revali would do as Revali pleased, and getting him to say anything about his home and friends was a stretch in the first place. Zelda had seemed the most hurt, but also, the most understanding of his secrecy, and Revali was thankful for that. Daruk was on the opposite end. He didn't understand Revali's reasons no matter how simply they were put, but he was ecstatic, and spent the entire walk to Goron City the next morning excitedly chattering about his own children. Urbosa had joined in, making the experience particularly hellish, and not only because he had to walk. His broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, and strained lungs made it outright dangerous to fly, so he was banished to the ground with the rest. The trip otherwise had been uneventful, but spawned a new appreciation for Daruk in Revali's heart.

At last, Goron City came into view, shimmering in the extreme heat. Revali couldn't feel that it was hot, as he no longer had a body that cared about such things, but he remembered how much he had hated it. Even with a fireproof elixir, it was almost unbearable, and he was desperate to escape the place. Now that he was immune to it, he had to admit, the place had a certain... Charm, that he was too busy complaining to notice when he had been here a hundred years ago. It hadn't changed all that much, practically untouched by the Calamity due to the lava lakes and melting heat that even Guardians found hard to deal with. Vah Rudania stood on the tip of the volcano's mouth, half in, half out of the hole, looking down over the city. Revali arced overhead, doing a singular pass, before he tucked his wings in and dove to land on Rudania's open platform on it's back.

Daruk was already there, waiting with open arms and a delighted smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling with joy. "Vali! Brother, I haven't seen you in ages!" He exclaimed, as the Rito came to a careful landing, as to not make Daruk worry. Revali sniffed derisively, flicking his hair over his shoulders. 

"Well, I came to see how you were doing here. A silly question, I know, given that... Well." He didn't need to expand on what he meant. Daruk's enthusiasm was hard to curb, and the Goron merely laughed, putting a hand on Revali's back and leading him towards the edge of the open space.

"I'm alright, but you should see the City! Now that Rudania's back under control, it's bustling with people! More tourists than I've seen in my entire life, and I'm a hundred years old!"

Revali had always wondered how old Gorons could be, and given that Daruk seemed to be of a middling age... Perhaps the upper limit was two hundred years or so. He didn't ask, and pretended to be interested in the goings-on of the City below. "And Yunobo?" He asked. "Is he still visiting?"

"Why, only almost every day! He's a good kid, I tell ya. I don't talk much since it's so tiring, but he talks to me all the time! Bludo's apparently taken him under his wing as the next-in-line for Chief!" Pride shone in Daruk's voice, and Revali had to swallow down some sudden sadness.

"Why, that's grand." Had anybody visited him? He wasn't sure, but he thought not. He didn't let the realization trouble him too much. "I wish I could say the same for the Rito. It's been a rough winter."

"It's winter?"

Revali merely stared up at Daruk, who met his gaze with shameless wonder. Of course, the Gorons don't care about seasons. It's always hot here. "Yes, it is winter, and a bad one. I was hoping you could do me a favor and have the Gorons send some supplies there."

The Goron Champion rubbed his beard and took a couple of steps forward, hemming and hawing. "Well... We Gorons don't like cold too much..."

"Then have Yunobo tell a Hylian, but I am not kidding when I say my village needs the help." It stung him, to go back on the tenents of Rito society. Independence. Self-sufficiency. Pride. It needed to be done, though, to ensure no lives were lost. Daruk seemed to sense the urgency and rarity of the need without Revali having to tell him so, and he nodded.

"Yeah. When Yunobo visits me next, I'll tell him to send some food and firewood. No rocks."

"Thank you." Revali walked up to stand beside Daruk, perching on the raised bit that stuck out above Rudania's leg. He let silence persist between them, observing the lives of those below. It was calm, and quiet, a distant hum of voices and the roil of lava slipping into the dead air around them. An unusual thing, around Daruk, who loved to fill any space in a conversation with friendly advice and encouragement. "So. Why are you still here?"

"Huh? Well, I could go down to tell Yunobo right now, but-"

"You know what I mean, Daruk."

Cornered, the Goron looked almost sheepish, resting a hand on the nape of his neck. The chains around his body clinked together as he shrugged his shoulders, kicking a stubby leg to dislodge a pebble on Rudania's back. "Well. Why would I leave? The Gorons are still here, and I said I would protect them to the death."

Stunned, Revali made a squawk in his throat. "Well clearly you've done that, we all have!"

"I know that! But still, I can control my Beast. What if they need me again soon? What if something happens? What if I'm not there to control it? I can't let that happen again. I need to be here."

Leaning forward, Revali searched the Goron's face, which was pulled into a frown. One arm went across his waist, and Daruk propped his other elbow on it, hand going up to cover his mouth. His gaze was cast down to the city, watching over the Gorons below. Revali swallowed, feeling a small lump in his own throat. His words were quiet. "Nobody blames you for not being able to control Vah Rudania, Daruk. Its rampage is not your fault."

The other man was caught off-guard by Revali's declaration, eyes widening and peering down at the Rito. Daruk looked away, sighing and pulling at his mustache. "I'd like to believe that, brother, I would. But it was my fault. If I had been stronger, I could have-"

"Been killed in spirit by the Blight, taken out of the reincarnation cycle, and doomed us all," Revali put the words into Daruk's mouth, and watched as the Goron cringed at the taste.

"No, that's not what would have happened!"

"Yes it is, Daruk, and you know that! Running and keeping our souls safe was all we could have done. Taking control for minutes at a time to spare our peoples even one mite of damage was all we could do. Stop feeling like you're a failure. I couldn't beat my Blight and I'm the greatest warrior that's ever lived in any race, so take comfort in knowing even I got bested!"

His words, egotistical as they were, rung out across the peaks. A few heads raised, and Revali wondered if he could be heard. He didn't think he was visible, but perhaps he was. At this particular moment, he didn't care. "You have children on the other side, Daruk, and you need to put your spirit back in the cycle. This was not your fault. They built a statue of you, do you think they would have done that if they blamed you for what happened?!" Why he was putting this much effort into consoling the Champion he was the least close with, he couldn't be sure. Daruk didn't answer. He merely kept staring down at the City, and Revali ran a wing down his face. "I cannot make your choices for you. But believe me. They love you, and remember you as a hero. Let go of your guilt and move on."

More silence. Revali sighed, and walked forward, prepping his wings to leap away and glide on the updrafts the lava provided. Suddenly, he felt Daruk's large hand on his shoulder. He was halfway through reminding Daruk to be careful, then stopped himself. He no longer had bones, did he? That revalation, and the abruptness of the action, made him submit. Daruk pulled him into a crushing hug, pressing the Rito against his chest with both arms. Revali had to admit, this was... Somewhat nice, feeling the pressure with no worries about his form being turned to paste with the force of Goron affection. He didn't like to be touched so suddenly, but he, gradually, patted Daruk's sides. He couldn't even begin to try to wrap the other Champion.

"Thanks, brother, I really needed that," Daruk said softly, voice wavering with barely contained emotions. Not wanting to stick around and watch him cry, Revali gently pried himself away. Daruk released him, and wiped an eye with his hand, taking a step back onto the platform and away from the Rito. "I'll tell Yunobo about the village. You run home now. Aren't you tired?"

He was. He was so, so tired. Being away from Vah Medoh for this long, and at this distance, was draining. He nodded, and jumped away, plummeting to the ground and willing himself to disappear. Daruk's voice called after him, loud and questioning. "Wait a minute, you have children waiting too, why aren't you-"

Revali vanished before the question could be finished.

He didn't want to talk about Kerari.

* * *

The Goron envoy that arrived at the village was bundled up in Hylian clothes. They looked absolutely ridiculous, but they came bearing carts of supplies, from blankets to Gerudo fruits to salted and preserved meats. The Rito accepted the help, though Revali could tell, to do so wounded their pride. He knew they'd get over it. The Gorons were undeterred by the cold and chattered excitedly, prone to gossiping like young Gerudo vais about anything that came to their minds. They spoke reverently of the great Lord Daruk, and how he had told their City to send the Rito some assistance in their time of need. They speculated about his involvement, but Revali sat on top of the medic's hut, and took care in making sure he was not visible to anybody.

They also bore news that Vah Rudania had gone dark, her light no longer shining over the Goron's home. This news, they delivered with some sadness, though it was immediately lifted with the news that Bludo was stepping back as Chief. Yunobo, Daruk's grandson, was taking his place, and would be transitioning into the role with help from the Elders. Revali was proud of the boy, and, strangely, proud of Daruk too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is heavily inspired by RPs with TheLaughingStar on Archive. Kerari is her character and so is Motal, hence why they're only mentioned in passing!


	4. Gerudo Tempest, part 1

At last, winter broke, with the gentle warming of the thermal winds that wreathed the Hebra Mountains in eternal snow and ice. They swept through the Hebra Plunge and over Lake Kilsie, a strong south-western current that brought with it the pale-green stalks of new flowers, and torrential snowmelt. This was the most dangerous time to be anywhere near the peaks, with Biron Snowshelf and Hebra's West Summit being the most prone to avalanches. However, a new problem had arisen this season, one Revali wans't quite prepared to have to handle: Vah Medoh. She was so high, and her wings spread so vast, that she collected snow like a roof. It had been piling on all winter, melting, freezing, and melting again until she had drifts piled up several feet high, clogging her turbines and making her interior quite damp. Revali... Wasn't quite sure what to do about that particular problem, and had been pondering it all winter.

His energy was limited. To leave Vah Medoh for an extended period of time, and an extended distance, drained his energy like the slats in the wooden walkways of the village drained water. He could interact with the physical world, but only barely. He made no noise when he walked, and rarely could he be seen. The crows that manned the medicine hut could typically see him, but they left him be, and he made no move to harass them. Revali could manipulate objects, and had tried doing so previously. However, unless he was concentrating as hard as he could, they would slip out of his hands, and crash to the ground. While he could clear a table with a single sweep of his wing, actually picking something up and holding it aloft was out of the question.

These factors made clearing the snow that piled upon his Beast quite troublesome. To become physical enough to push the snow off her wings was a taxing effort, and oftentimes it resulted in him collapsing in a heap onto the snow itself. It irked him that he no longer made a dent in it when he did so. When he did manage to dislodge a drift, he was so tired by the end of it that he had to go back inside and rest, or else he would lose himself without his permission and wake up hours or days later. It was a practice in madness, and though he kept at it, he could not deny that Vah Medoh was now a hazard. He wished he had chosen some other place to rest her, wished that he hadn't been so dead-set on presiding over Rito Village. _This was where I put her in life,_ he had reasoned. _This is where I will put her in death._

When he was alive, he was always using his Beast, ensuring that she moved. Revali had been told it was integral be bond with her, that he think of this Beast as an extension of himself, rather than a tool. That meant he spent lots of time with her. _Perhaps too much time,_ he'd realized, when he had died. Being trapped within Vah Medoh, hiding from the Blight, gave him plenty of time to think about his regrets. His mistakes. He had few, but the ones that he did have weighed incredibly heavy upon his heart. Sure, keeping his Divine Beast in near-constant motion did aid him, by the time the Calamity struck he could control her without being anywhere close to the terminal. However, even he had to admit, such devotion to his mission had a cost: His relationships. His friends, his adopted family. His mate. He wondered... _Had things been different, would she have done what she did? If I spent more time with her, with everyone, would they have done that to me? Would they let me live? Would they-_

His spiral of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of thuds on the wings of his Beast. Revali startled, nearly flipping himself out of his hammock in surprise and reaching for his bow. His hand clasped around empty air, and he reminded himself that he was dead, and no longer could pick up and use a bow. His Great Eagle Bow had been broken the day the Calamity struck anyway, and had survived all these years in the patient hands of the bowyers. Regardless, he stood up and approached the Guidance Stone terminal that resided in Vah Medoh's head, where he tended to hang out when he rested. Flinging his hand in a disgruntled gesture to open the camera feed, he expected to find some Wizzrobes, or falcons trying to nest. What he found there instead shocked him.

Rito warriors, about fifteen of them, standing on the back of his Beast. They were scrabbling for purchase, talons dug into the ancient stone in a futile effort to remain upright. The leader, a black and white falcon, was knee-deep in the drifts. He remained upright, wings spread wide, crouched low to avoid slipping and tumbling down. Another man stood beside him. _Harth,_ Revali recalled his name, a bowyer who had been obsessed with recreating his Great Eagle Bow. His hair was swept over his eye in a way that gave him a dour, depressed look, and he certainly didn't look happy to be here. Shrugging his shoulders, Revali prepared to close the camera and let the warriors do... Whatever they were doing. Then they spoke to him.

"Master Revali?"

His name dropped from the leader Rito's mouth with reverence and some trepidation. His medium-length mane of untamed feathers quivered in the zephyr that eddied around Vah Medoh's back, but he stood firm, determined to make himself heard. Harth looked at the other Rito, _Teba,_ Revali's memory supplied, like he had grown a third wing.

"What are you doing, Teb?"

"Hush. It's worth a shot. Master Revali, are you there?"

Stunned into silence, Revali was stupified, dropping down heavily onto the ground. _They're trying to talk to me? Why? What use would this serve?_ He dragged his hands through his crest, and Teba cleared his throat.

"Okay, I get it, not talkative. Master Revali, we'd like to clear the snow off of Vah Medoh's back. It's going to melt and drench the village. But the wings are angled too awkwardly for us to walk up here. Could you-"

They didn't need to say another word. Revali held out his wing, slanted slightly upwards like Vah Medoh was. Slowly, and with great caution, he moved his wrist to make his hand parallel to the ground. Vah Medoh groaned and whined, her turbines and engines shuddering, but followed his commands. The moment Vah Medoh made a sound, the warriors all leaped off, gaining some distance to allow the Divine Beast to move. It took no effort on Revali's part to do this. Vah Medoh was connected to him spiritually, they were one and the same person. He could move her like he could move his own leg. He was only doing this so slowly to allow the warriors to move away, and to avoid any janky movements that would cause the entire sheet of snow to drop onto the village's heads. Gradually, Vah Medoh grew still. Now she was positioned so her legs and body were at a right angle, and her wings lay flat. Revali had no fear of her falling over, her talon gripped too tightly to allow such a thing, and her tail served as a counter-balance.

Pure silence reigned, as slowly, the Rito warriors landed gingerly back onto the mechanical eagle. Revali didn't move her again, still mystified that anybody would try to speak to him. Nobody had before. Not like this. Not seriously. Teba was the last to land, looking around with a bewildered expression, like he didn't actually expect this to work. His words were soft, and delayed. "Th... Thank you, Master Revali."

Revali longed to speak to them. To say something, anything, and make himself known as more than a simple Beast above their village. Instead, he thought twice, and went back to his hammock. Work proceeded apace above him, as loads of snow were loaded into waterproofed bags and dumped into the lake. It was slow going, but the Rito chatted and laughed amongst themselves, singing snippets of songs as they rolled snowballs and pushed the more dangerous banks away from the precipice of the edge. It warmed Revali's heart, to see them all so happy, despite all that they had lost. _But then again, it's spring. The Ceremony is only a month or two away. They're likely thinking about claiming mates of their own or renewing their commitments._

Something bothered him about Teba, though he wasn't sure why, as he went back to resting in his hammock. He had left his camera feed on, merely to watch them, to ensure they didn't venture anywhere dangerous. Once or twice, he whirred Medoh's fans to warn them about pitfalls and uneven terrain, to prevent any accidents. Mainly, he watched the falcon work. He was tall, even among the Rito, with long legs and a serious disposition. He gave orders that were followed without question and took on the harder tasks by himself. His beak had a wicked curve and black tip, like Revali's own.

_Like my own._

The sudden realization smacked into him with the force of his Gale. His own. He hadn't been able to know what happened to his children when he died, trapped within his Beast as he was. He'd assumed his bloodline had died out, but...

He leaped out of his hammock, had a running start at the wall, and allowed himself to phase through it. Behind him, he could hear the startled cries of the warriors, as Vah Medoh shuddered, her lights dimming. Revali didn't care. He wanted to be anywhere but here, and anywhere would be Gerudo Desert. Urbosa would surely take his mind away from all this.

Revali's relationship with Urbosa tended to be an odd one. At times, she was his favorite Champion. On other occasions, he wanted to send her, along with Link, to the bottom of Tanagar Canyon with only one yard of rope. Generally, he found her presence to be somewhat oppressive, and she had a way of maneuvering around all his half-truths and evasive answers to get to the bottom of whatever it was she wanted out of him. It made her both easy and extremely irritating to talk to, but when he wanted guidance... He knew to whom he could turn.

* * *

The last place in the entire fucking land of Hyrule he wanted to be was away from home, and yet, here he was. Beating his wings as he soared directly over Vatorsa Snowfield, rushing as hard as he could. He was pushing his Gale to the limits to make up for lost time, as he had been coerced into showing up today. He had considered, multiple times, simply going back on his word and not coming at all. Quite honestly, when he'd been informed Zelda wanted him to come to Gerudo Town, he'd nearly told the Princess to fuck off and come back in a few months. However, that would be rude, and might bring down the Hyruleian Royal Family on his head, so he swallowed his answer and agreed. Now he was sorry he ever did so, and his heart yearned to be back home, rather than in this Hylia-forsaken desert.

Telling time was rough in the mountains, especially as they constantly seemed to be in some state of snowfall. He'd promised to be there by midday, but he knew it was an hour before noon by the time he'd even left home. Not to mention circling overhead, debating on if he should even leave his mate and egg. He'd made the choice to leave willingly, and now he was too close to Kara Kara Bazaar to turn back. His thick covering of feathers made the cold of the Gerudo Mountains a non-issue, and by the time he'd hit the desert proper? It was approaching afternoon, and he didn't give a damn about the heat. He was sweating, but his Gale kept him somewhat cooler. The desert sucked. Sand got stuck in his feathers constantly, the climate was exactly the opposite of what he lived in, and the Gerudo and their rules were a pain in his ass. The climate did not brighten his mood as at last, he caught sight of the Bazaar. He dove in, somewhat recklessly, and was sure to land in the shallow end of the oasis the Bazaar was built around.

This caused quite a stir, as he did not take his time in landing. Revali was breathing hard, cursing every breath of air he took that smelled of sand and Sand Seals. He hated this place with every fiber of his being. The squawking and general surprised exclamations of the Bazaar's current inhabitants aside, he waded out of the lake with his hands planted firmly upon his hips. Urbosa's head stuck out of the door to the inn, catching sight of the irriated Rito. The name the inn bore had completely slipped his mind, and he couldn't read Gerudo. Sand Seal's Inn, he thought, though trying to piece it together would be a moot point. Urbosa did not look happy with him, swaggering out of the door with her arms crossed. Her hair was braided tightly down her back, framing her face in stark relief. "Kind of you to show up. Several hours late, might I add."

He was not in the mood. "Fuck off, Urbosa," he snarled at her, shaking water off his talons and stepping into the sand. His feet sunk into it immediately, and again, he considered going home as it clung to his skin and made him absolutely miserable. The Gerudo woman did not like that.

"Is that any way to greet a friend?"

"It is when I don't want to be here," he shot back. His feathers were loose and poofy, and he wanted to sit down and pluck a couple of them out. He would have, if he were at home and in his nest. Instead, he chose to dig his fingers into his waist to curb the urge to pull. "I need to be home right now."

The Chieftan's brow furrowed, and she studied him closely as he approached. "We haven't seen you in weeks. The Elder didn't even let us see you when we were there, you were holed up in your house."

"For good reason."

Whatever it was about that reply, it softened her demeanor somewhat. She sighed, shaking her head, and extending her arm to put it around him. He stepped away. His skin felt like fire, too sensitive to be touched. Urbosa respected the boundary. "Oh," she said, her voice quiet and forgiving. She seemed to know what was going on without him having to say a word. "I'm sorry. You can go home if you wish."

Revali took a deep breath, then another, letting his temper collect in his chest, and then, pretended it was draining out into the sand like spilled water. He had to calm down. Emotional highs and lows would not do him well. "No," he replied, when he was calmer. He didn't open his eyes. "No. I need to be out of my home. I've been inside for weeks. I need to. Get out. Fresh air, a break, and all that. I'm sure the village will be okay."

He cracked an eye open when he heard her stir, fabric shifting across her skin. Urbosa did look somewhat regretful, resting her chin on the back of a hand, elbow anchored on her ribs. She seemed not to believe him, but that wasn't his problem. He held his beak high and marched past her. "Let's make this trip quick."

* * *

The Rito Champion was unconcerned as to why they were truly there, and honestly had entirely zoned out when the reasons were being given to him via the Elder the week prior. He had been so caught up in his own personal problems that nothing else seemed to matter, his horizon had shrunk to include only himself and his family. He learned the reason they were there eventually. Urbosa was having problems with her Divine Beast, and apparently, all hands were needed on deck to settle the issue once and for all. Zelda had brought her Sheikah Slate, to determine if the issue resided within Vah Naboris himself, but came away empty. Thus, it fell upon the shoulders of the Champions to help her, giving them their own advice.

Mipha's idea was to speak to Naboris as if he was an old friend, to give him kind words and gentle encouragement. That got them nowhere. Daruk's idea was to lock Urbosa inside the Beast until she knew every nook and cranny. When disgust was voiced at this idea, he defended himself, saying that that was how Link had made it possible for him to control Vah Rudania. At last, the question fell to him over breakfast one morning. He wasn't hungry, and truly, felt sick to his stomach to even look at anything edible. He had been lounging across the room when Urbosa posed the question, and he gave the answer that came immediately to his mind, not caring how the other Champions would react.

"Self-control and discipline. These Beasts are us. Links in our reincarnation chain that gave up their afterlives to continue the fight against Ganon. Master your own self and the Beast will fall right in line."

That seemed to be the key Urbosa needed to unlock her Beast. The smell of stewed fruit and salted meats made him gag, and he felt his mood sour. He had left the room with no comment, and the Gerudo guards let him pass. They bored angry stares into his back when he left, but he didn't want to stay, using his Gale to fling himself into the sky and lose himself in the pleasure of flight for flight's sake. He angled his wings towards home, towards Birdia Lookout. He simply let the winds carry him where they desired him to go, keeping his arms steady and gliding on the air flow that existed up here. It was cooler, as he got towards the mountains, and he was thankful for it. He made loops around the Great Cliffs, and when exhaustion pulled at his bones, he alighted on Gerudo Tower. He waited out the midday sun there, settling in to pick at his feathers. The loose ones were driving him up the wall, and he'd been deprived of a good chance to be rid of them. By the time the sun was approaching the afternoon, he had amassed a small bag of them, mainly plush, downy feathers. All his primary ones were intact. When he felt that he could stand company again, he returned to Gerudo Town. Oddly enough, the Champions had all gone to Vah Naboris. He didn't feel the need to accompany them.

The Gerudo, while very adamant about never allowing men within their walls, took the concept of gender with a grain of salt. They seemed to take it more as 'presentation', and never questioned someone more than once when they were unsure. That, and the fact that they never saw many Rito, made it quite easy for Revali to enter the town with his head held high. They didn't question him or stop him, although they knew who he was. He had tied his hair back in a long braid that fell down past his shoulders, and was wearing somewhat bright clothing, his scarf now falling down to cover his chest. Nobody bothered him when he strut across town and made himself comfortable in the back corner beside the throne room stairs, settling down to fletch new arrows with the feathers he'd shed earlier in the day. As evening approached, the Champions all filed back in, with grins and expressions of pride in Urbosa. Revali didn't feel up to talking with them, and retired to bed early, ignoring the invitation to dinner.

The other Champions left the next day, heading out in the early morning to beat the grueling midday heat. Revali stayed behind, having heard Urbosa's knock on his door telling to prepare to leav. Refusing to reply, she didn't press him, and walked away. His heart yearned to be home, but some part of him longed to stay, and so he elected not to make a choice at all. He stayed in his room, laying in the hammock provided for him, ignoring the empty feeling in his legs. He tossed and turned and got little rest despite how tired he was, dozing on and off. Urbosa bothered him again around midday, declaring that lunch was being served, and she was leaving to handle another situation across the desert and would be back in the evening.

Revali ignored his growling stomach as long as he could, then slunk out of his room. As promised, a basket of hydromelons was left at his door. He bundled a couple of them up in his scarf and went to sit atop Gerudo Town's walls to wait on Urbosa to return. The cool water that ran atop them was soothing, and he chewed on his lunch through the afternoon, taking his time and enjoying the treat. It was rare to get to sit and eat like this, though anxiety still made him feel like it was going to come back up. He only finished two melons, and gave the rest to some Gerudo who asked to have them. He didn't look at her when she asked, merely flicked his wing to indicate she could take them away.

It didn't take long until Urbosa arrived. "Halt," someone stated, the voice coming from upstream. Revali raised his head and found Urbosa standing on the wall a couple of yards away, her scimitar pointed at him menacingly. "You know the rules. There are no men allowed within this city's walls."

He snorted at her, and returned his gaze to the water. "Oh, but you haven't noticed," he replied, making himself be friendlier than he truly wanted to be. "I'm not inside the walls. As you'll see, I'm on top of them. Thus I'm not breaking any rules."

The Gerudo Champion choked back a laugh, coming to stand beside him. It didn't escape him that she was giving him space, space that he'd repeatedly had to make for himself while he was here. Denying hugs, stepping away, and generally acting even more aloof than usual. She folded her legs up under herself and stared out across the sands with him. Close to the town, there was someone lighting lanterns around a circular track of some kind, and a large banner being hung across it. He wondered what it was for. "I would have thought you'd be first out the door," Urbosa prodded, lightly testing Revali's willingness to speak. He tugged at the feathers on his thigh.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." The words hung in the air, empty and meaningless. She wanted him to say more, and he complied. "I'm sorry I've been in such a mood. It's been a rough time."

She hummed knowingly in her throat. "I wouldn't have asked you to come here over something so silly if you told me you were incubating." He didn't ask how she knew. She tended to know everything. "How's the chick coming along?"

"Chicks, actually," he corrected her. She seemed surprised, but stayed quiet, merely making an encouraging raise with her eyebrows. He'd been snippy and short with everyone, but Urbosa's ability to listen had him spilling his worries before he knew what was going on. "The laying was hard. Twins made the egg bigger and we were told there would be problems to begin with. Kerari was very weak when the egg was laid. She's been in bed for weeks, I was scared she wouldn't make it. I've been doing all the incubating on my own and I've barely left my house in almost two months, even to train. This is the longest I've been gone since the egg was laid and it's only been a few days, and," the words continued to tumble out in a rush, like a thundering waterfall. "I don't know what to do. She's getting stronger and she's been able to sit the egg herself, and we've had help, but it still sits so heavy on my shoulders. I want to go home but I'm scared of what I might find."

"Revali. Breathe."

Urbosa didn't touch him, but her words had a physical presence upon him. He gulped down air, unaware of how long he'd actually been talking until he felt the burn in his chest. He coughed, catching his breath and looking at himself in the water. Wide-eyed and frazzled, it reflected how he felt within far too accurately. He brushed his feathers on his face down and took slow, even breaths. Urbosa had leaned forward to look at him, almost like she was on the edge of tears. He frowned. Was he close to crying? It was hard to tell. "So. That's what's been going on." The words were lame, but he was out of energy to speak about the situation. He swallowed thickly and looked away from the Gerudo woman, and he heard her sigh.

"I'm sorry to pry. My women keep marrying Rito men. I've started to notice the signs of broodiness." She reached a hand out, tenderly, to touch him. She gave him plenty of time to react, and he leaned away. She put it back in her lap, then brushed it through her thick hair. "No wonder you've been in such a mood. It's natural to be worried. To want to be there and away. It's how I felt with my eldest daughter."

 _Right. She's got children._ That's why he felt so open with her about this. Revali huffed a laugh, feeling so much... Lighter, without those emotions pressing down on his chest. "If you can believe it, now that she's able to carry on long conversations? We've been squabbling about names, of all things. We can't decide what to name them, and they're due to hatch in two weeks!"

Urbosa smiled at him, though it was somewhat weak, wavering. Clearly, she was still concerned about him, but willing to entertain his suddenly happier mood. "When Gerudo vais cannot decide on a name for their daughters, we tie the names to sand seals and have them race." She gestured to the track with her chin, where sand seals were now lining up. "There's an exhibition match tonight, open to all genders. We could decide on names tonight, right here, right now."

He gawked at her. "You're kidding! If Kerrie knew I decided on names with sand seals, she'd have my head!"

He couldn't believe what he was doing when, ten minutes later, he was writing down all the ideas that he and Kerari had thrown about on pieces of paper. The racers would never deny their chief anything, even in an exhibition match, and would carry these names with pride. He had to admit, he was certainly biased, so when the names were all decided? Urbosa whisked them away to deliver to the racers. He wouldn't be allowed to know which seal bore which name. 

It was likely better that way.


	5. Gerudo Tempest, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Split the fucking thing in two, AGAIN.

While Urbosa ran away to go and tie names to Sand Seals, and likely to give the creatures a bit of fruit to encourage the ones who held the names she liked best, Revali changed clothes and cleaned up. He hadn't much time to do anything as of late, much less primping and preening. All his time was really spent in his hammock with his egg, keeping it warm in the frigid temperatures of winter, as the weather grew bitter. It was cold enough out year-round to kill an egg if it wasn't properly maintained, and the last thing he wanted to do was lose his mate and his egg in quick succession. Thankfully, they'd both pulled through, even though winter had done its best to kill them. Sitting on his egg for two and a half months though, he noticed, had some drawbacks. Sure, he was able to take it as easy as he wanted it. His friends and adoptive family had pulled together to support them all, delivering food, offering to sit the egg for a few minutes at a time so he could stretch his legs or do whatever else he needed to do. After a month or so, he could have left it by the fire, wrapped in blankets in a cradle... But there was already so much stacked against it.

Revali had been laid early. He'd hatched early. He was told his egg had been treated roughly, with spotty incubation and some close calls in terms of breaking. In terms of starts to life, Revali's was incredibly rough, and his mate's wasn't much better. Mother having died in laying, she'd started out strong, but he was always scared if the family complications had been inherited. They had. Revali wanted to give the egg, and the twin chicks inside, the best launching into life that he could. Even if he'd gained a little weight in the process, he noted, glaring ruefully as he buckled his skirt around his hips. It was made of thick leather layers, lined on the inside with sheep's wool that kept him a little warmer, even when trudging through snow. He'd always been wasp-waisted, but his legs were a little thicker, and it wasn't from the added layers of feathers he'd grown in his broody season. Sighing, he sat on the chair provided in his room to look in the vanity, mixing his face paint to apply a fresh coat. The process of face-paint and feather braiding always soothed his nerves, and he shook his hair out of the long braid it had been trapped in to make himself pass as more 'feminine'. The moment it was loosed, the navy-grey strands curled wildly at the back of his head. He debated cutting it all off.

Thankfully, before he could reach to grab his fletching knife and ruin several years of careful work, Urbosa returned. He didn't turn to greet her, watching her reflection in the mirror as it opened the door and leaned on his doorframe. "Race starts in ten minutes, Revali." She tried to study his expression in the mirror, but he ducked his head down, pretending to be searching for the right comb in the mess he'd dumped upon the vanity's surface.

His aloof demeanor didn't last long. Urbosa shook her head, and shut the door she was leaning against behind her. She came to crouch beside him, looking up at an angle that made it hard to hide his hesitant countenance. Her eyes traveled across his face, mouth turning downward as she did. "Are you sure you don't want to go home?" She offered quietly. 

Swallowing, Revali felt like a Hinox had taken up residence in his throat and fallen asleep. He busied himself by futzing with the longest feather-pick he had, grounding himself to avoid crying. His emotions were so all over the place lately. "I've been home. I'm sure she'll be okay. Blythe and her mate have been incredibly helpful. And I need the change of scenery." Expertly dodging Urbosa's next prod at his well-being before the words escaped her lips, he gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. "I can't be bothered to braid the ribbons into my hair today. Could you help me?"

Giving him a sidelong glance that informed him Urbosa knew exactly what he was doing, she nodded. "Certainly, though I have little experience with Rito hair."

He gestured to his travel bag, in which laid several changes of clothes, ranging from his normal attire to the latest in feminine Rito fashion. They didn't ascribe gender to clothes like Hylians did, skirts and pants and hair ornaments were worn by all genders. However, it was best to be prepared, lest a Gerudo guard call him out on his improper dress choices. "There's a wooden hoop in there, black and green. It's the newest trend in the village and remarkably simple, merely time-consuming. All you have to do is clip it into my feathers right above my crest and wind my hair around it. It looks nice and it keeps me cooler."

Distrusting, but willing to set the matter aside, Urbosa rifled through his belongings until she located the hoop in a side pocket. "I can promise nothing, but I will do my best."

Revali went back to his paint-mixing and applying as Urbosa dealt with his hair. The tedious and meticulous work of winding his hair around the wooden decoration did keep her quiet, and it made Revali feel a little better. The gentle pull on his scalp soothed the constant need to be touching something or someone despite how on-edge he was, and it gave him an opportunity to drag his combs through his arms. His primaries fell right into place, and despite his near-constant state of puffiness at the moment, he deemed himself presentable enough. Not quite male, not quite female, his presence should be accepted without question. Urbosa finished the last wind of his hair around the hoop and adjusted how it spread along the ornament until not a peek of wood could be seen. However, she lingered, hands hovering over his shoulders like she wanted to hold them. She dropped her hands when he gave her a look, and she didn't mention it. "Come on. The race is starting soon. You have names to decide on." She turned and left his personal space, but Revali spent a moment more at the vanity. He looked... Nice. It had been a while since he looked this good, and he was going to savor it.

"I suppose I do, don't I?"

* * *

The seal race was nothing spectacular, as far as Revali was concerned, but then, he wasn't paying much attention to the splendor of the race itself. More consumed with worry and anticipation, he had perched on the top of the quickly-erected viewing stands to avoid getting sand in his feathers. He stripped his wingtips with his beak until it was over. He was certain that, due to the Chief's presence in the audience, the racers gave it all they had to put on a good show. He simply didn't care enough to watch any displays of skill or technique, and watched the ribbons tied to every saddle, fluttering in the dry desert breeze, each carrying a possible piece of his legacy.

The rider that won the race and held the first set of names has a wide gap in her teeth and too much green makeup that clashed with her eyes, and Revali couldn't remember her name the instance she said it. Her ribbon was green, like the rest of her, and the names she bore were one pick of his, and one of Kerari's. He and Urbosa had decided to tie two names to every slip of paper, one boy, and one girl, and take only the sets from the first and second place racers. To ensure that even if the chicks were the same gender, they'd have enough names. This racer, Revali had mentally called her the Green Rider when he went home, held the names Kovi and Riva. He liked them just fine. 

The next racer, who had a crooked nose and long, dangling earrings, held the names Yoki and Ramil. He had been holding out for Revali Junior, but he was too thankful to have the names decided on to think very hard about which names were chosen. He had left Gerudo Town early the next morning, so early he hadn't even stayed for breakfast. He was eager to get home, lest he somehow miss the hatching. Or, worse yet, not be there if they never hatched at all.

Thankfully, his chicks hatched without trouble, one boy, and one girl. Kovi and Riva it was. He loved them terribly much.

* * *

Finding Urbosa was more of an affair than he would have liked it to be. As he glided toward Vah Naboris, going straight through the whirling, riotous sandstorms, he didn't get the hum of connection he had with the other Champions' spirits. The glow of another member of the dead, another reborn, sagely soul, simply wasn't happening. He already knew when he tucked in his wings and paddled his legs to come to a stop on Vah Naboris, he wouldn't find the Gerudo Champion waiting for him on the back of her mechanical camel. However, the Beast still glowed, blue light shining, though dimly, across the jagged crags of the East Gerudo Mesa. Revali kicked a stone on Vah Naboris' hump, and sat down in a heap on his back. "Mind telling me where your master went, old friend?" The Divine Beast gave him no reply, not that Revali truly expected to hear one in the first place. It was merely an excuse to rest, to wait a few moments and see about Urbosa's return. A moment turned to several moments, turned to hours, as he saw the sun streak across the sky and dip below the horizon. It was a little hilarious, how he always seemed to be waiting on her to come to him. He decided to change that, rising off the ground and walking to the edge of Naboris' hump. He stepped off the Beast's back and opened his wings, feeling the press of the air against his arms that slowed his fall.

He knew where he'd find her. Really, why Revali hadn't checked here first was a mystery, even to him. At night, Gerudo Town was typically bustling, a vibrant den of activity, and the war hadn't changed that very much. Evidence of the night's festivities littered Gerudo Town's stone paths, rinds of fruits and even the odd veil or two, discarded in the night. Their owners were either asleep or had left the town, away to catch moments of privacy with their catches. Gerudo nights tended to attract the bravest of men, who dressed themselves as women and got a peek at the lifestyles led by the warrior women. However, now, torches burned low, and the only Gerudo about were the poor guards who got stuck on cleaning duty, muttering about their rotten luck. Urbosa clearly wasn't visible to the mortal eye, but she couldn't hide from Revali. Nothing and nobody could, and he tilted his wings to bring him into a spiral. He landed on the top of the balcony that stuck out of the wall, what used to be Urbosa's balcony.

She was there, leaned back against the railing. She made no motion to shoo him, one arm bracing herself against the stone. Revali raised an eyebrow at her, but she merely held a finger to her lips. She then flicked her hand before her, into the room that used to be hers. The Chief's room. Revali opted to stand beside her, arms crossed over his chest, and peeked inside through the slip of curtain that blocked the door.

Inside sat a Gerudo child, who could not be more than twelve years old. Pieces of parchment were scattered across a low stone table, lit by torches along the wall, and a lovely lamp shaped like a sandseal, casting a glow through it's colored glass. She was rubbing her eye with a hand, a writing quill clutched in it. The motion caused her to smudge her makeup and draw a line over the top curve of her cheek, black ink streaking across her tanned skin. It joined the other lines that had been placed there, likely by the same reflex. _Maleeka Riju,_ her name popped into Revali's mind, recalling a recent conversation he'd overheard in the medic tent he tended to perch on at home. The newest Gerudo Chief, and the youngest in history. Her bodyguard Bularia stood at her side, tall and unwavering as the Gerudo Summit. She kneeled, and spoke to the child in a low voice, likely trying to coax her to bed, as the horizon was now lightening to dawn. Riju shook her head, despite the clear exhaustion on her face, putting her quill back to the stack of papers piled upon her table. Bularia frowned, but stood up again, placing the tip of her sword into the ground and string resolutely at the door, and through the dead Champions that stood there.

Sorrow was etched across Urbosa's face. "She's so young," the woman spoke at last.

Revali murmured in agreement. 

"She should still be in school. Someone should be teaching her how to hold a sword. And she should absolutely be in bed right now. What's happened while we were gone, Revali?"

The soft prompting to sleep continued, as Bularia's concern grew and patience waned. Revali cleared his throat to rid himself of the growing urge to shed a tear over the situation. "I think her mother was killed. I don't know the details. The world was not a safe place, while we were trapped."

"Trapped." Urbosa's brow furrowed, and a vein twitched on the side of her head. In the room, Bularia scooped the tiny Gerudo chief into her arms. Riju curled into the embrace as she was bundled off to bed, and Urbosa huffed. "Murdered, more like."

"If that's the term you would like to use," he said evenly, unwilling to tip her temper any further. His neutral reply seemed not to work, and Urbosa shook her head. 

"Stabbed in the back, is the accurate term," she spat. Her fingers dug into the railing, hands strong enough to crack the stone were she to try. In fact, the force of her grip, although no longer in the physical plane, was strong enough to make a piece of the stonework crumbled in her hand.

Bularia looked up immediately, hands going to her blade. Urbosa pushed herself off of the balcony and in one clean, fluid leap, jumped from the platform to the roof, wordlessly motioning for him to join her. He did so without hesitation, crouching and pumping his wings once to generate the lift he needed to get off the ground. As Bularia brushed the curtain aside, poking her head out and looking left and right, the Champions left the edge behind. Urbosa strode away to perch at the side of the roof that faced the mountains, hands poised just below her ribs. Her arm drifted to reach for a sword that wasn't there, a nervous tick that had carried over one hundred years in time. Silence pervaded the air, and just as Revali opened his mouth to tell her about Teba-

"I already know what you're here to do, Revali. And it's not going to work."

To say he was 'surprised' was an understatement. He closed his beak with a click, to avoid it hanging open, smoothing his ruffled feathers with his wingtips. "You _do?"_ He asked doubtfully.

Urbosa did not look at him, eyes affixed to the mountains. "Little bird put you up to this. Trying to get me to let go. To move on. I'll tell you the same thing: I will not rest."

Zelda had been here? Well, that was news to him. "I have no idea what you mean," came his honest reply.

Urbosa rolled her head to the side, giving him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Hasn't she visited you? Tried to make you let go?"

"No." He tried not to let that bother him. Her gaze returned to the mountains.

"I will not stop until I clear our name, and our land. My people have been seen as liars and thieves since the Age of Time. I will allow our reputation to be tainted no longer. We have been loyal to the Hylian royal family for centuries now, and it is their own who have turned upon them."

 _Their own?_ "What do you mean?"

"Yiga Clan." The words were drawn out in a horrible snarl, thunder rumbling ominously across the dunes. Revali swallowed, well-acquainted with Urbosa's temper. It rivaled his own short fuse, and though hers was of a middling length, it still went off like a Bomb Arrow when properly roused. "Those Sheikah traitors. They infiltrated our homes. Our very lives. And they killed us using those we trusted most."

Heart hammering in his ears, Revali looked away from the woman standing beside him, trying to calm his nerves. The question she asked next made him wish he could faint, because he was sure he would have done so were he still able.

"Who killed you, Revali."

 _Oh, Hylia above, please make her stop._ "The Windblight."

"That's not what I'm asking and you know it. Who planted that Blight in your Beast. Who betrayed you."

He swallowed, vision going fuzzy around the edges with dizzying panic. "I don't know." He knew quite well. He didn't want to believe it, though, even all these years later.

"Yes you do. For Daruk, it was a close brother, scorned by Daruk's waning attention. For Mipha it had been a close advisor, raised from birth in the Clan. Who was it for you. Who did this."

He refused to meet the gaze he felt burning into his ethereal skin. The electric green eyes that belonged to the warrior narrowed, but she seemed not to want to press it the matter. Urbosa took a deep breath and returned her attention to the desert, scanning the far-away mounds of rock at the base of the mountain. "For me," she began, taking a deep breath, "it was my eldest daughter," she revealed, arms crossed over her chest. "I didn't want her involved with the Beast at all, but she begged and she pleaded, and I relented. I showed her how to get in. I showed her how it worked. I took her for a ride, and she promised never to tell her younger sisters. I was scared they'd get hurt." The Champion's nose flared like a bull, and lightning crackled in the distance. "I suppose I didn't tell her not to show her Yiga friends. Her father was Clan, my only husband. Such a sweet Sheikah boy." Revali could almost see her eyes misting over, but it was gone the moment it began to gather in the corner of her eyes, never allowed to become true tears. Urbosa closed them instead, lost in her own memories. Her voice began to waver. "He tried to kill me in my own bed. I was quicker. But I don't think my daughter ever forgave me. Or understood why. And I lost her to the same poisonous ideas that took my husband."

He didn't want to hear this. Revali had known something was sour between Urbosa and her eldest child, her youngest two were always polite and well-behaved... Or so he had heard. He'd been able to eavesdrop on many a vicious argument between mother and child, not that he ever meant to. He simply assumed it was over Urbosa's tendency to pick up and drop voes as she pleased, he would never begin to think it was something as extreme as murder. "I'm... Sorry, Urbosa."

"You don't have to be. It wasn't your mistake." Her voice had gone hard as steel, her tone cold and deadly. "I'm not going to leave this world until I destroy that Clan. I know they've made their home here. They always run my sands, steal our belongings. Kill our people. No longer." Urbosa's eyes snapped open, blazing with rage. "I'm going to wait until I know where their home is. I can still control Vah Naboris. And I can still reign down hell with him for everything they've done to me. To you. To _everyone_ these past ten thousand years."

Revali absolutely could not believe what he was hearing, snapping his attention back to her. He searched her face, but she didn't appear to be kidding. "That would kill you," he stated. It was not a matter of if, not one little bit. "Using that much energy. Controlling the Beast for that long, to do all that damage. It would destroy you, and-"

"So be it."

His beak shut with a snap, eyebrows meeting his crest in shock. Urbosa's fingertips drummed upon her arms, and he expected her to bore a hole in the mountain from how hard she was staring at it. "You can't." He whispered his request. "You just can't."

"And why can't I?!" Urbosa whirled upon him, and Revali took a tentative pace backward. "I gave my life for Hyrule and little bird and it wasn't enough! So I will give my spirit as well if that is what it takes to wipe out the scourge on my desert, and heed my words Revali, nobody living or dead can stop me!" Her voice hit its crescendo, and lighting smashed onto the grey sands behind her, a deafening clap of thunder following it.

"You're right," Revali conceded, raising a wing into the air. "You're right. Nobody living or dead can stop you. But what you can stop is your own rebirth. What would happen if you fizzled out in this revenge quest, Urbosa? What would happen to your soul? You'd fall into a slumber so deep-"

"Stop it, Revali-"

He did not stop. He raised his voice instead. "A slumber so deep your soul would be lost for hundreds of years, Urbosa! This is suicide, you'd throw away hundreds of rebirth cycles-"

"I'm warning you!"

Revali didn't care. By now, it had become personal. "For a stupid _revenge quest! You're not that dumb!"_

 _"It's not about revenge!"_ Urbosa howled at him, lips pulled back in a growl, throwing her arms in the air. "It's about preserving what I've worked so hard to maintain! We had a good reputation, and I will be damned if I let it all go to waste over some Sheikan traitors who think Ganon is a good thing!" The two Champions were out of breath they didn't have, pausing to glare at one another. Urbosa swallowed, and broke his gaze first, running a hand down her face. "We've worked so, so hard here, to be seen as something good, rather than evil. We've shaken Ganondorf's rebirth these past ten thousand years. I will not allow the deeds of the Yiga to be pinned upon us."

Revali scoffed, cocking his hips and leaning towards her. "Do you really think Zelda would let that happen? We've lost all records of the past Champions, but I promise you, that Princess is likely having epics written about us as we speak. And they will absolutely include you, her favorite of us all." 

Urbosa frowned at him, some of her anger draining away. "I'm not her-"

"Yes you _are._ She's only visited you, Urbosa. The others didn't mention her at all, only you. I guarentee you, you and your race will not be remembered as some horrible curse-bearing band of robbers and grifters. You'll all be seen as heroes, and I'll make sure of it even if I have to write the epics, line by line, over the next hundred years myself!"

She looked at him, and he looked back, unashamed and unabashed. Slowly, Urbosa let out a long, tired breath, and for a moment, Revali could see all her years, living and dead, weighing upon her back. "You're right," she admitted. "I know you're right. I can't waste my spirit on something like this, much as I want to." A wry smirk tugged at her lips. "It's simply the Gerudo way, to want to go out in a blaze of glory. But I suppose I have already done so." She reached out, to touch him, but he stepped aside. As always: She respected his space, and her hands cupped her elbows instead. "I'm sorry to have yelled at you. And demanded who trapped your Beast with the Bli-"

"It was my mate. And some of my friends."

Urbosa raised an eyebrow, but Revali didn't want to go on. He pushed down tears and turned away, ready to fly... Somewhere. Anywhere. Home didn't seem so bad now. He didn't even feel like flying, and dropped his wings, opting instead to disappear into the aether. He could become lucid again at any time, but right now... He wanted to be alone.


	6. Burgeoning Scholar, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're at the beginning of the end, folks. I think I see the final chapter.

Days passed at a time in silent blurs, the sun in constant motion around his Divine Beast. Or perhaps it was weeks, Revali didn't particularly care about the semantics, listless as he was. Being reminded of what happened to him made him want to forget all the harder, so he tried his hardest to do just that. All he cared about, right now, was escaping lucidity and the horrible memories and revelations it wrought upon his consciousness. He had returned home in the blink of an eye to settle back down within Vah Medoh, made his form invisible, and sunk as deep into the spirit world as he could without letting go of life entirely. He wasn't visible, and he certainly wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him. Every now and then, Revali would peek his head up from the enduring black and teal glow of... Whatever waited beyond. Spring was passing by. The Spire the Rito lived upon was sprouting lovely green grasses and pastel blossoms that spat pollen upon everything. The Ceremony came closer, and Revali withdrew. It was almost like sleep. He would dip under the black wave, and when he poked his head up, seconds had turned to days. He skimmed the edge of true peace and rebirth, barely remaining in the mortal plane at all. Unwilling to stay, but even more unwilling to let go and fall into the waiting maw of rebirth and resurrection. At any time he could be born again, and have no recollection of anything that had once happened to him in this life. He could leave this oozing welt and all it's suffering in this time, and wake up when he was needed, be it ten thousand years or more in the future.

Unless Revali remembered it all, as he had in this life. Remembered every ounce of pain and betrayal that accompanied him in his relatively limited years, one of his most important lives to date. Total recall when he went to Vah Medoh had not been fun, to say the least. He had felt a yawning, gaping hole inside him for so long, since he was a child really. Bullied, left by his mother when he was young and his father when he was older, ego and pride moved in to cover the absences. He was the first, and only, Rito hero. He gave them something to look up to, a light in the dark, and he didn't need anything to truly take the place in his heart that his mother and father had carved. The bandage of praise and adoration was enough. Everything changed when he connected with Medoh.

It all came flooding back, the piece of him was restored. The flimsy lid he'd fashioned out of narcissism and heroics to cover his pain was ripped away, and the memories poured into place, soothing the void in his soul. The wind sage Laruto, murdered in her shrine by Ganon's incarnation, blood spilling out across the wet and cold stone. Her body was never found, her devotion to prayer making her little more than a legend among her own kind. Medli, the proto-Rito girl who had awoken as a sage, and then followed in Laruto's fins. The smaller lives, the Hylians and Zora who had never been truly integral to Link's journey, but perhaps would speak to him, give him advice, a kind word, the encouragement he needed to keep going. His life as Medoh, a stoic, courageous Rito who fought with honor, so dedicated to the cause she gave up her spirit to give her Beast it's own life. The moment Revali had touched the control terminal he had collapsed, sobbing, onto the ground, as all his past deeds had rushed in and left him breathless.

It had taken several minutes to shake the Rito Champion back to reality, with the king and Zelda looking down at him. Zelda had been the one to wake him, took his face in her hands and spoke softly in words from a tongue long forgotten, stroking his crest and holding him in her lap until his lives released him. He'd pushed away the moment he could, risen to his talons and shook on his legs like a fawn. He had tried to instill confidence in his friends afterword, those who had come to test the Beast with him in case the previous trials were wrong about him being the Champion. He had wiped his eyes with a wing and scolded Vah Medoh for the experience, attempting to make light of the situation. His voice had cracked and wavered, and tears still trickled down his face, smudging his red makeup and making him look pitiful. His closest allies had looked back with concern. Even fear. How would they know what he had seen? How would they know he had been murdered, had been tapped to help save the world time and time again?

He tried not to let the fact that Zelda hadn't visited him yet bother him. Revali didn't want her to visit, he convinced himself. He didn't want to leave, after all. Another memory floated, unbidden, to his mind, a dry leaf on the current of his tumultuous thoughts. He let it take hold to distract him, keep him under a while longer, carry him in it's undertow so he could ignore his own aching emotions. The concept of rebirth had always seemed ridiculous. In truth, Revali had been convinced that Zelda was simply full of shit when she talked about the reborn sages. Everyone knew the hero, the princess, the demon king, all of them were constantly reborn. But the _sages?_ He had thought it impossible. Even when Vah Medoh brought his lives all back, he downplayed their existence. He denied it.

Until he was shown.

* * *

Hyrule Castle was utterly gorgeous in every way imaginable. Monolithic and imposing, it cast a dark and impenetrable shadow across the land. Yet, somehow it seemed to extend a welcoming hand of warmth and protection to the town that spread out below it at the same time. Its gardens were immaculately maintained, a sea of rare blooms and fragrant petals that made the air slightly sweet whenever you ventured outside. Sunlight glinted enticingly on the golden crest of Hyrule, plastered everywhere it could be, ornate statues of gold wrought in the wing-like shapes flanking the very front gate. Today, on a rare occasion, they were opened to the public, and not just Castle Town at that. Flags and arras dotted the outside walls, now draped with the crests of the other races, gold thread etched onto cerulean blue. The Zora, the Gorons, the Hylians, the Rito, the Gerudo, all were represented in the royal colors. It was a sign of goodwill, a motion of peace and unity among races that considered themselves distant, and always apart. Revali wasn't sure how the other Champions and their representatives had felt about it, but he thought it an empty, meaningless gesture. Perhaps that was because he didn't like Hyrule's monarchy, thought the king was constantly overstepping, making the cultures that the races had built melt maddeningly into one. This was not the Hylians world, though the hero's quest may have bound them all. This place belonged to every single race that walked upon it, not just Hylia's chosen vessels, and they deserved to be themselves.

Perhaps that's why he found his enjoyment of the place to be so sinful, so wrong. It was a luxurious palace, comfortable to the extreme. Wide, airy hallways that had enough space for two, perhaps even three or four adult Gorons to walk abreast, enough room that even he never felt cramped like he thought he might. The wool carpet beneath his talons was springy and soft, easing his somewhat sore ankles and making him delight in the luscious sensation of walking on it. The stone walls were as pristine as they had been the day they were laid, the tall windows thrown open to allow a fresh breeze to ruffle his plumage. The gentle blue in the decor had been replaced with a bold, striking red, giving the entire corridor a much more ceremonial feel. The weapons crossed over iron shields and new tapestries on the walls were elegantly maintained, polished and lacquered so much Revali figured that perhaps, they were never meant to see a battle at all. Torches placed on every column that had been snuffed in favor of the shining daylight that beamed into the hall, replaced with new tar and wood for the occasion. Today was the Champion's Inauguration Ceremony, the day they would all be officially declared pilots of their Divine Beasts and put into service of the crown, and Revali was less than excited.

To be put under King Rhoam's thumb rubbed Revali's primaries the wrong way. It wasn't like the king had done anything wrong, per say, but to now be intended to listen to the king, and the king alone? It was abrasive against his wild spirit, and he did not like it. The Rito were the most independant people in Hyrule. The Zora may have had their 'kingdom', but with such close ties to the Hylian monarchy, their king was more a figurehead than a face of power. The Gorons had a City, but considered themselves under the king's rule. The Gerudo were nearly matched to the Rito in their ways of solitude, but they were a personable race, always seeking out their life-partners among the other four peoples. The Shiekah may as well have been born into servitude. The Rito were not like that. Their Elder's word was law, their rules and customs dictated how the Rito thought they should be. Sure, they would trade with the other races, but they made themselves wholly distinct. And they were quite happy to leave it that way.

Thus, mere minutes prior to the Ceremony, he was nowhere to be seen, pondering his new destiny and working himself into a fit over it. Pacing in a hallway near enough to the Throne Room to arrive on time, but away from the general clamor, avoiding his new master. He didn't deal well with people in his space, bumping against him and generally aggravating his already short temper. He didn't want to snap at anyone today, much less someone important, like a noble in the court, or the King himself. His footsteps were nearly silent against the thick rugs that were spread down the passage, and his head was bent down, counting the golden lines painstakingly etched into the red thread-work. He wondered how long it had taken to make. How long it would take until it was ruined by muddy boots and rambunctious party guests.

"Master Revali."

A voice jolted the soon-to-be-Champion out of his reverie, though Revali knew precisely who it belonged to. As soon as he recognized it, his tensed shoulders eased somewhat, and the stutter in his step turned into a full stop. He refused to turn around. "Amsu. What is it?"

An incredible warrior in the village, Amsu was not an Egyptian vulture to be taken lightly. Taller than most Rito, bordering on Goron-sized, he was a man of few words and fewer niceties. His shoulders were broad and thick, and muscle was stretched across his frame. He was born and raised in the Gerudo mountains, and spent half his years speaking the tongue, giving his every word a strange and twisting lilt that made him hard to understand to many people. His tan feathers rustled as his arms folded over his chest, standing at the other end of the rug down the hall. Giving Revali his space. "Kerari is asking where you are."

 _Right. The Ceremony_. Revali waved a hand. "I'll be there. She doesn't need to worry, and you don't need to drag me there. I will not be late to my own pompous title-giving."

The vulture snorted. Revali looked over his shoulder to find the man with the barest smirk on his face, more emotion than he typically wore. His mane of feathers was unbound, as it always was, and his deeply golden eyes sparkled. Amsu had a couple of years and a couple more feet on Revali, and were it to come down to raw strength, Revali knew he would lose the bid to stay put. Fortunately, Amsu didn't seem to be in the mood to drag the hero to his own ceremony, merely guffawing and shaking his head. "Whatever. Your funeral." He turned, and his footsteps thudded across the carpet as he departed, ducking down a side hall and vanishing from sight and sound instantly. 

"Yes, she would kill me were I to be late, wouldn't she," Revali muttered dryly at the vulture's retreating form. Kerari was the second-greatest warrior in the village, the only competition Revali truly had in his title as 'the best'. Rivals and childhood friends, heat bloomed in his cheeks as he remembered the conversation they'd had the previous day, promising to be more than that. He closed his eyes, letting a fanciful smile tug at his beak, when-

"Revali!"

A flurry of soft footfalls urged him back to the present. He cleared his throat and brushed his wingtips over his chest, straightening his back and placing his other wing at the base of his back. Revali certainly didn't intend to bow to whoever was bothering him, but it was always wise to maintain the best posture he could, in case it was somebody he had to give the barest measure of respect. So many nobles and commoners alike had harassed him, having never seen a Rito up close before, he thought this hallway would be peaceful. It seemed not. However, it was a mixture of all of the above.

Zelda. Dressed in her most regal of blue dresses, the formalwear of the kingdom, Revali wasn't used to seeing her like this. A golden circlet set with three rubies tamed her wild blonde hair, pin-straight and cascading down her shoulders. Her hanging sleeves nearly touched her knees, white and golden gloves lacking fingers, with rings set upon her middle fingers. She looked the absolute picture of divinity, blue-green eyes cast in a harried, worried light. It had likely taken hours to dress her like this, to look prim and proper, and not like a princess who loved to spend her time rooting about in the dirt for broken bits of ancient metal and stone. As she came closer, Revali noted the minute tics in her body language. Her brows were drawn tight, lips pursed, hurrying as much as she could without potentially tripping over the hem of her skirt. In her hands was clutched... Something, and her digits clasped and weakened around it, distressed, but trying not to cause any undue harm to it. Revali turned to her, slowly, like he might turn to look at a grazing rabbit.

"Princess," he said, giving her the barest incline of his neck. Proper etiquette demanded he kneel, or bow. He did neither. "You should be getting ready to present us to the Kingdom."

"I, well, yes, I know that," the girl stammered, tripping over her words. Her hands came to rest between her hips, cloth item still concealed. He tried to get a better look at it, cocking his head and squinting. Zelda refused to let him see it, continuing on. "It's just this is the first I've been able to see you, you and your party arrived late."

They had, hadn't they? Most Rito in the air could rival an adult Zora's swimming speed, making them among the fastest races in Hyrule. There was no excuse for them to have arrived a day late, other than a blatant show of defiance. He yawned and pretended not to notice the intentional slight he had made against the king. "So sorry about that. Weather. Did you need something?" He questioned, hoping she would get to the point and leave him be.

Her brows shot up, and she straightened. "Ah! Yes, I do, you see my father thought it best if we had something to unify us all-"

 _Here we go._ Revali tried not to curl his beak in disgust. He wasn't sure how successful he was.

"So," Zelda barrelled on, "I made all the Champions sashes to wear. As a sign that we are all unified against the Calamity."

Revali thought he might gag.

At last, she presented the item she held to him, holding it out in her hands for his inspection. It was a lovely, pale blue color, with intricate white designs along its border. He thought up a lie as quickly as he could. "I wouldn't like a sash. It would get in the way of my arms and make it hard to fly."

The princess brightened, though her smile was strained. "Precisely, I thought the same. So I thought, perhaps, since it's one of the only things you seem to like..." She unfurled the sash, and before his very eyes, it became... "I made yours into a scarf." Vah Medoh was placed in a corner, white lines streaking her likeness across the blue that made it look like she was in the sky, elegant detailing curling over the edges. He was somewhat stunned at the product, roaming over it with critical eyes. He had high standards for his clothing, and being made to wear it by Rhoam was already a strike against this gift. Long enough to wrap twice around his neck, it was still somewhat short for what he liked. His current scarf ran down to his legs, after all, but he wasn't going to count it out on length alone. Revali extended his arm to run his wingtips along the fabric. It was beautiful and silky, breathable and warm all the same time. He fell in love with it immediately. It must have shown on his face, for Zelda's smile tried to widen, but something was holding it back. She took a deep breath, attempting to settle her nerves. "I take it you like it?" She asked, relief evident in her voice.

"I do," he said quietly. He flicked his eyes up to meet her own. "Thank you." For once, Revali meant it with every inch of his heart, and it seemed to startle the princess. She smiled weakly.

"Here. Do put it on, please. I would like you to wear it at the Ceremony." Reading between the lines, Revali detected the words 'you are expected to wear it' hidden in the prepared speech she'd given him. He shrugged his shoulders and went to take it, but. Paused.

Princess Zelda was still tense, back ram-rod straight and chin held high, every last piece of expectation and standards laid upon her so heavily he was surprised she didn't collapse under their weight. She held his gaze, though it wasn't easy, and stress showed along every inch of her body. Perhaps... He could be kind to her. Were one thing to go wrong today she'd likely end up in an insane asylum, and truly, he didn't intend such a thought in a rude manner. It was a matter of fact. He tugged at the white and red scarf he wore, hating that he was giving up his Rito crest all the while. He folded it up in three quick strokes, especially skilled in this process, and set it upon the nearest windowsill. For the first, and perhaps the only time in his life-

Revali kneeled down before a royal. The movement was somewhat gawky, his long legs not lending themselves to this type of motion, but he made it work. His knee sunk into the plush carpet, and as Zelda looked at him with a mixture of confusion and awe, he gestured to his now-bare neck. "Go on," he said, touching his wingtip to his throat. "Tie it on how it's meant to be worn. I think were it to not look perfect, you might cry, so let's avoid ruining your perfect makeup, hmm?"

His gentle coaxing seemed to snap the princess from her thoughts, and she nodded, making a gentle sound in her throat. "Mm, I'll make it quick," she promised, and fumbled with the scarf for a moment. Kneeling down like this, Revali's head came up to just about her ribs, making it easier for her to loop the article around his throat. Zelda's promise held true, her digits dancing over the cloth as she tied it gently, yet securely around the slender column of his neck. Now and then, her fingers would brush against his primary feathers, and every time she did so, she would pause, marveling at their texture. Smooth and firm, but impossibly fragile, they truly were a wonder to behold. It occurred to Revali that Zelda had likely never seen a Rito close like this before, and forgave her the minuscule intrusions on his space. She pulled and picked at the scarf, making the tiniest adjustments until she seemed to be satisfied with the end result. She ran her hand over it, and by extension, his chest, one last time, before stepping back and folding her hands over her stomach. The action seemed to have calmed her, and Revali felt a small stroke of pride, along with genuine happiness. He truly did like the princess.

"See? Easy," he boasted, getting back to his feet. He struggled minorly, and pretended not to notice Zelda's steadying hands helping him back to his talons. She removed her hands the instant she could, and neither of them mentioned the assistance. Revali cast a glance down at himself, soaking in how he looked with the Divine Beast resting on his midsection. _Handsome_ , was what he deduced, and a smirk plastered itself over his beak. "It is an amazing scarf," he praised, running his wingtips over it again to take in the texture. He would likely never take it off. Looking down at it didn't give him a good enough approximation of how he looked, so he turned to the window to glance at his reflection.

The window was stained black, black as the night sky, and a creeping sensation rose into his chest. Revali had experienced this before, the choking sensation that accompanied his first contact with Vah Medoh's terminal, the odd visions he'd been given. The black window, more like a portal now, wavered and shimmered, iridescent and unfathomably great. He blinked.

Hundreds of people blinked back at him, appearing in an instant in the gaping hole that had been ripped in the word. Zora, Hylians, Rito and proto-Rito, Watarara even a Goron or two stretched out, back, back, back into the yawning maw of the darkness. Medli stood in front, nearest to the window, her tiny stature making her look up at him. Behind her, Laruto. Beside Laruto, a shimmering, translucent form he recognized in his soul as Medoh, when she walked this earth. Countless others joined the ranks, scales and feathers and pointed ears abound, a ringing noise buzzing in his skull. The sensation reached his neck, and he almost imagined he could no longer breathe, as Medli stretched out her hand. She laid it, tiny and thinly feathered, upon the glass that seemed to no longer be there. Shaking, Revali reached out, and pressed his wingtips against the glass. He curled his fingers and laced them with the proto-Rito girl's, and she smiled, blinking up at him with reverence, and... Reassurance. Peace.

"Revali? Revali, are you alright?"

A figure leaned into the window, blotting out everyone else with her light. Her words had no form, no meaning, understood only in his heart. Her shape was unintelligible, merely a bright spot in the blackness, white and golden and unknowable to his mortal eyes. He cringed, taking his hand away and shaking his head, and suddenly Zelda was at his side, her hand laid gently on his arm. He ripped it away and glared at her, stepping away to create his own space. She shied away, clasping her hands over her heart and looking remorseful. Revali regretted the action at once, and smoothed his ruffled feathers down, unaware they had even rustled. He cleared his throat, hoping his voice sounded strong. "You once said we are all reborn sages, correct?"

Sorrow and repentance turned suddenly to scholarly wisdom, reluctant to speak, but unable to prevent the knowledge she had from spilling out. "Yes," she said slowly, clearly thinking this was a trick.

He glanced back to the window out of the corner of his eye, but saw only trees and grass, a garden relishing the late summer air. "Who am I?" He asked suddenly. "Who _was_ I?"

The princess wrung her hands and looked away. "I... I'm sorry," she began. "We can't say for certain who you are. The Rito are so new, and we can never be sure what souls you once were and... Who you were not."

Swallowing, Revali put the thought out of his mind, to ponder on later. "It doesn't matter. Come, we're going to be late." He turned away and hurried down the hallway, leaving the princess, the divinity of Hylia, and every other odd happening behind him.

* * *

In the endless murk of the layer between life and death, Revali turned over. He didn't want to think about that anymore. He didn't want to think about much of anything, but thinking was the only way he could stop feeling. What a cruel and vicious cycle this was. He begged Hylia to send him a distraction, then popped his head up. Spring. Late spring, dragonflies buzzed around Vah Medoh, and he looked down at the village. Colors were everywhere, banners and waving streamers. He pulled himself out of the muck entirely, shaking out his feathers like he truly had been sleeping.

The Matching Ceremony. Good thing he hadn't missed it.


End file.
